Paris Fashion Week is a whirlwind of fashion, glamour, aperitifs, and traffic jams. With all fashion royalty great and small gathered, it’s also an optimal moment for collab previews and launches. This year, PUMA x Pleasures' hotly anticipated Velophasis was one of them.
For the collaboration, PUMA and Pleasures turned to the Velophasis, a recently introduced model that takes retro design elements from the archive, like its piece-y leather upper, and creates something new. Oversized, overdyed, and hard to miss, the sneaker packs a pink punch and sets the tone for the rosy partnership that’s set to come.
Hosted at Parisian locale Andy Wahloo, the event brought LA cool to the French capital, offering a welcome respite to the heaving streets of Fête de la Musique. Throughout the night, friends and family, including Memphis Depay, one of the most stylish footballers around, graced the club and pink flood-lit courtyard.
Ahead of his set, we caught up with Pleasures’ co-founder Alex James to talk PUMA, Paris, and embracing Barbiecore.
Why did you want to collaborate with PUMA?
We are no strangers to sneaker projects, but PUMA is really trying to create some different energy in the marketplace. There was a really dope archive of rich history that we were able to tap into. When you look at other brands, there's not really so much in the archive as far as diversity, in design and direction. This is the first time we were able to work with the shoe from the bottom up, and it was cool to work with a vintage model that I thought was unique.
Were you a fan of PUMA growing up?
For sure. I used to wear the Suede and the Clyde growing up. I also had a real New Jersey Guido Italian phase where I was wearing that one shoe that had the zigzag crisscross that was perforated that looked like a racing shoe.
The Mostro?
Yeah, the Mostro. It was that shoe and Armani Exchange and Diesel. That was the vibe. And where I'm from, there's lots of Italian-American pride and that shoe was the uniform. It was a pretty sick shoe, honestly.
Why did you choose overdyed pink for your collab Velophasis?
Well, this is the first thing we're putting out together to announce a partnership, so we have to come out with a bang. We can't make anything that's not eye-catching and exciting. And we're aligned with the trend in the US of just bright colors. Barbiecore, as some might want to say. When I saw that headline, I was like, this is sick—shout out to the writer on that one.
Music plays a role in pretty much everything Pleasures does. Why is it so important to you?
That's our love language, that's like our voice. We're fully inspired by music. I don't think there's a brand like ours where we have a platform where people learn and educate themselves about different types of subcultures. Different types of music. People come to us now as a source. I think we're more than a clothing brand. We're a platform to introduce people to cool shit. That's how we have an interesting fanbase, because somebody that shares music with you is very intimate, and sacred. It's a very special relationship.
Did music references come into the design of this collab?
Not directly, but obviously, we had to do some music-related activations. We did the outdoor activation today right on the street. People were dancing, loving it. Now, myself, my buddy Marwan [Kaabour], and Tommy Yeti came all the way out from Shanghai to play some dance music. It's an open format tonight. I'm playing all different types of music.
What are you going to be playing?
Probably a bunch of Smiths and Morrissey and New Wave. That's my vibe, I want to get people moving, get people in the moment. This is the longest day of the year, right?
Is there anything else you want to share about the partnership or what we can look out for?
This is the first announcement and there's going to be a bunch more amazing things coming. Smaller, bigger, all types. Keep an eye out for this ongoing partnership.
Shop the drop here.
