EXCLUSIVE: Blackpink’s Rosé Sports Puma Palermo in First Campaign

FIRST STEP: On the heels of her appointment in June as global brand ambassador for Puma, the first campaign featuring Blackpink’s Rosé will drop Wednesday.

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In the images shot in the streets of Seoul, the K-pop star is wearing cobalt blue and black versions of the Palermo sneakers.

Relaunched in 2023, this model was originally created in the 1980s as part of a series of sneakers created as an homage to famous European metropolises and became a hit among soccer fans.

When the K-pop star was appointed in June, the German sportswear giant stated that the partnership would center around the brand’s “catalog of iconic silhouettes,” which “celebrates [its] most timeless footwear shapes and brings them into a new generation.”

Deeming Rosé an inspiration for her “remarkable influence on music, fashion and culture globally,” Puma’s chief product officer Maria Valdes said the singer would “play a diverse role, leveraging her knowledge and vision to help us redefine our classic space,” while “her unique perspective will be instrumental in amplifying Puma’s ‘Rewrite the Classics’ program highlighting franchises like Palermo, Speedcat, amongst others.”

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For the occasion, the New Zealand-born singer, whose real name is Roseanne Chae-young Park, was pictured arriving at Nuremberg airport in Germany wearing the Palermo sneakers. She is expected to front additional classic franchises in the brand’s Sportstyle category.

During a call on Puma’s first-quarter sales, chief executive officer Arne Freundt had called out the Palermo when speaking about the success the brand has recently had with various lifestyle footwear collections, including the brand’s contributions to the “low profile” sneaker trend — the Speedcat, Mostro and Palermo — as well as sold-out collaborations with musicians Rihanna and A$AP Rocky.

Rosé, who was a guest member of this year’s ANDAM Prize jury , appeared last year in a Rimowa campaign and was appointed global ambassador for Tiffany & Co. in 2021.

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