A$AP Rocky Talks ’90s Skate Style and His Latest Puma Suede Drop

Over in a small Midtown warehouse on Thursday, November 13, A$AP Rocky and Puma threw a ’90s-inspired rave. Inside, sheltered from the wind and rain, guests covered their phone cameras in true nightlife fashion before heading into the space.

With NYC DJs and A$AP Mob collaborators Chaddy P., Sulay, and Kelvin Krash spinning a hip-hop set that mixed throwbacks and modern classics, the night marked the multi-hyphenate rapper’s second drop of the Suede ’94 with Puma, which first debuted over the summer. The latest iteration features a distressed navy upper and a gum sole in an homage to the original Suede.

 

Historically, the duo’s collaborations skewed more future-facing. Complex lacing systems, thoughtfully warped proportions, 3D-printed shoes, and other material explorations had become standard over A$AP Rocky’s three-year tenure with the brand, but the Suede ’94 was a callback to his roots in New York City. That’s where TEETH Magazine’s conversation with Rocky began at the event before turning to the references that shaped his second Suede ’94 drop with Puma.

Rocky initially drew inspiration from the b-boy film Beat Street and the era-defining Kids, written by Harmony Korine. He also looked to Michael Schultz’s Krush Groove and to ’90s Berlin, whose skate and hip-hop scenes he credits with helping hip-hop gain a foothold in Europe.

For the campaign, Rocky took the creative lead and worked with photographer Spyder to shoot in Berlin. It’s a fitting location for a sneaker whose history spans skateboarding and hip-hop. In New York, that overlap was part of Rocky’s own adolescence, when the crews he skated with took him well beyond his neighborhood.

“We weren’t just skating in the Bronx,” he clarified. “We’d hop onto the train and go downtown into Soho.” Looking back, Rocky also spoke of his older brother, who inspired him early on and introduced him to the NYC skate scene.

As far as who the shoe is meant for, Rocky’s perspective is all about community. The Suede ’94 “[is for] everyone. The old heads know about the Suede. But there’s a new generation of people around the world who haven’t had a chance to experience this sneaker. You can really wear it with anything.”

And with Rocky sitting next to the shoe, it wasn’t hard to see what he meant. Throughout the night, guests wore the sneakers with everything from cargos and denim to classic b-boy tracksuits. One guest even slung a pair around their neck, pairing them with an oversized Puma-branded bomber. The Suede ’94 fit right in with the sneakers young skaters and creatives alike have come to claim as their own.

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The A$AP Rocky x Puma Suede ’94 is now available at puma.com, Puma retail stores, and select retailers.