Gotta Be The Shoes: Coolest Celebrity Sneaker Collaborations

We’d be lying to ourselves if we said celebrity influence didn’t play a major part in the world of commerce. From food and drinks to the brand names we wear on our backs, many of those decisions were made thanks in part to an endorsement by one of your favorite famous faces. It’s practically a standard when it comes to copping sneakers.

It’s probably the reason why so many find themselves shocked by recent news that PUMA has reportedly ended its longstanding partnership with global pop queen Rihanna. This comes after she was spotted rocking the popular Jacquemus x Nike Moon Shoe that Solange modeled for the campaign back in March.

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According to Snobette editor Lois Sakany, a reliable-yet-anonymous source confirmed that not only will FENTY x PUMA be soon coming to an end, the sportswear imprint’s collaborative efforts with her boyfriend/baby daddy A$AP Rocky will also be wrapping up for good sometime in 2026. The decision appears to be simply contractual and was only meant to last for a duration of three years.

More details below, via Snobette News:

“The return of Fenty x Puma was officially announced in March 2023. While financial terms were never disclosed, I’m told Rihanna and Puma agreed to a three-year contract. Rihanna initially partnered with Puma in 2014, likewise under a three-year agreement that she later told Vogue had concluded with a final spring 2018 collection. Other than their duration, however, the two deals had very little in common.

For her first run with Puma, CEO Bjørn Gulden was still leading the company before departing in 2023 to take over at Adidas, where he remains today. At the time, Rihanna’s world looked very different too: she was dating around but not yet committed, and had yet to launch Fenty Beauty (2017) or Savage X Fenty (2018).”

The report goes on to add that it became a whole new ball game from the initial partnership to the renewed deal, including Arne Freundt signing a four-year contract as new CEO of PUMA only to depart two years later, stiff competition from the on-trend adidas Samba, and, understandably, a distance from younger consumers as her absence from music turned from a few years into a full decade. That Rihanna reign might not let up, but timing has a way of changing everything.

It got us thinking back on the history of celebrity sneaker collaborations overall. In addition to Rih, we have seen some of the biggest superstars at the forefront of campaigns for our favorite footwear giants — checks, stripes and the Jumpman alike! Regardless of how you feel about their music, movies or performance on the court, there’s no denying the impact they had in dominating the business of footwear on a whole new level of artistic creativity.