A$AP Rocky<\/a>\u2019s latest link up with PUMA<\/a> is about the culture. Taking it back to a time when Jazz music was called \u201cJungle\u201d and the Cotton Club on 142nd Street and Lenox Av, New York City was the place where young musicians fought to be seen, Rocky\u2019s collaboration is all about his heritage as an artist and a guy who grew up in the vibrancy of Harlem\u2019s streets.<\/p>\n Taking direct inspiration from the names who characterised the Harlem jazz renaissance and the opulence of their fits, Rocky\u2019s PUMA collection offers ready-to-wear, footwear, and accessories that play on the bold textures, iconic mis-matching, and disruptive styling of the era, all with a Flacko twist. This time around, the PUMA Inhale and Mostro OG return with an animal-inspired upgrade, and we see a new classic -the Mostro Gabbia- debuted, a sneaker built with a removable cage.\u00a0<\/p>\n We linked up with A$AP Rocky to find out what his largest collaboration with PUMA yet, and his first that features a mix of styles for all genders is all about. Keep reading to find out.<\/p>\n The collection\u2019s inspired by Harlem and Jungle Music \u2013 can you share any personal experiences tied to either that inspired you?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWhere I\u2019m from, there was this club called the Cotton Club, and they would host jazz musicians at the time. [Back then] they didn\u2019t refer to the genre as Jazz; they called it Jungle Music. So we just wanted to pay homage and take something that was originally supposed to be derogatory and negative, and flip it into a positive.\u201d<\/p>\n Are there any specific figures or artists who inspired this collection?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI would say people like Cab Calloway, Langston Hughes, Duke Ellington. Those guys inspired this.\u201d<\/p>\n Do you have a favourite piece in the collection?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cMan, I don\u2019t [have a favourite piece] but I really love the fur trench \u2013 that fur coat is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n Can you point out any details that fans might not notice at first glance?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cYes, we had a lot of attention to detail. For instance, these right here,\u201d he holds up a sneaker from the collection, \u201care pony skin mixed with python. We wanted to put those together because it\u2019s mismatching, right? My whole prerogative is the mismatch. I\u2019m the best dressed mismatcher known to life, right? So I wanted to manifest that whole theory in the collection, especially in the shoes and the [contrast of] different prints with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s a lot of animal prints like snakeskin and faux fur in the designs \u2013 is there a particular root of inspiration behind that?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201c[In the collection] I tell a story about how Harlem was developed. At first, it was mostly people who lived in what we know now as Central Park. [Back then] it was called Seneca Village, and you know, after they got ran out of Seneca Village, everybody went to Harlem. It was a bunch of millionaires living in brownstones and a lot of wealthy black African American people living in this certain region of New York City, Manhattan, the Upper Side. They embodied a certain tradition of opulence and ghetto fabulousness and extravagance and flamboyance. I think that kind of shaped me in my experiences growing up in Harlem, and I wanted to manifest that into the collection.\u201d<\/p>\n Where would you imagine someone would wear this collection?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cYou could wear it in the back of a luxury car. You could wear it to church. You could wear it to pick up your children from school. You could wear it to school. You could wear it to work, you could work in it. You could take it off. You could actually not wear it all, you could preserve it. I would highly recommend that. I want to make clothes that don\u2019t have any obligations. Your freedom is the rebellion. That\u2019s what I like about this collection: it\u2019s just like, you\u2019re free to do as you please. It\u2019s very diverse, very versatile.\u201d<\/p>\n If you could style anyone in this collection, who would it be?\u2028\u2028<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI love when my girl wears my clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n We already know AWGE shows are iconic, with really immersive show spaces. If you hosted a fashion show for this collection, what would that look like?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt would look like the Cotton Club, and we would pay homage by having those jazz bands performing and stuff like that. Maybe I might holler at some of my friends [to make the soundtrack]. I would definitely holler at Jon Batiste and have him come through and do something, because that\u2019s my guy right there. Leon Bridges. My new album pays homage to some jazz, too.\u201d<\/p>\n My last question is, what\u2019s your vibe for 2026?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know yet. Hopefully, I\u2019m alive, healthy, and happy. But the vibe for 2026? You\u2019re gonna have to wait and see, sis.\u201d<\/p>\n More on Culted<\/strong><\/p>\n See: The new\u00a0H&M<\/strong>\u00a0campaign takes the\u00a0runway to the street<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/culted.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/5-1-819x1024.jpg\")
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