On March 1st, Puma released a statement announcing their latest collaboration with Rihanna’s Fenty brand. The CEO of the German company, Arne Freundt, simply stated “She’s back” to sum up the exciting news. The partnership between these two entities was highly successful in the past, and they are looking to reignite that success in 2023. While the announcement may be short and sweet, it certainly packs a punch for those eagerly anticipating this collaboration.

Although Rihanna recently performed at the Super Bowl halftime show wearing a pair of MM6X Salomon sneakers, her fashion notoriety is largely attributed to her collaboration with Puma. In 2015, Puma was struggling to reposition itself and reconnect with its roots in performance sports while also revitalizing its sportstyle offerings by partnering with personalities. Rihanna became the face of this strategy, joining Puma as an ambassador in 2014 before designing her first collection, FentyXPuma, for which she served as creative director. The collection debuted at New York Fashion Week in 2016 and was an immediate hit, particularly the Creeper model. Puma continued to build on this partnership and signed on other pop stars and models like Kylie Jenner, Selena Gomez, The Weeknd, and Dua Lipa to design their own Puma collections. From sleepers to boots to sneakers with platform soles, the collaboration between Fenty and Puma was successful, even expanding to include a line of sporty-chic ready-to-wear clothing shown at fashion weeks in both New York and Paris.

Rihanna faced a major setback with the launch of Fenty in partnership with LVMH in 2019, but it doesn’t seem to have affected her potential. She continues to expand her offerings with SavageXFenty lingerie and Fenty Beauty cosmetics, which she successfully promoted during her Superbowl 2023 show. Despite being less visible in the music scene, the star’s power has only grown in the past decade, as she has over 145 million followers on Instagram and is a figure for women’s empowerment. There is no news yet on a launch date or fashion show project, but with the end of Adidas’ partnership with Kanye West’s Yeezy, a renewed collaboration with Rihanna’s Fenty could be a major commercial asset for Puma in the coming months.