PUMA Leaps Into the Metaverse With Its First Digital Experience

If you're a footwear company and you're not diving into the metaverse then you're already ten steps behind. Between Nike's innovative partnership with RTFKT and Adidas' rollout with Prada, the space is quickly seeing growth in the space, and now PUMA is up next. The German sportswear brand has just announced Black Station - its first metaverse website experience.

Unveiled during New York Fashion Week, the digital initiative which features exclusive NFTs with limited edition redeemable physical sneakers as part of its 'FUTROGRADE' show. The immersive and interactive site allows consumers to dive into PUMA's future and experience web3 activations over the course of the year and beyond.

"Twenty years ago, Black Station was PUMA's home for our most innovative designs in fashion," said Adam Patrick, PUMA's Chief Brand Officer. "Given the boundaries we are pushing from a product design and digital standpoint, we found it fitting to bring Black Station back as a new portal for digital exploration across fashion, sport performance, our heritage classics, and innovation."

Beginning on September 7, the first two portals of Black Station will reveal exclusive, never-seen before Nitro NFRNO and Nitro Fastroid sneakers that are linked to PUMA's NFT NitroPass mint. Owners who minted a Nitropass have access to a duo of NFTs - one related to physical products and one that grants access to a customised experience linked to their chosen shoe. Once the Futuregrade shoe concludes, minters will be allowed to acquire their physical kicks by burning their product-claimed NFT.

"Our team of designers took a lot of liberties when envisioning these footwear styles. We told them the sky is the limit. As a result, we were able to harness their creativity without the typical confines and limitations of our shoe production process," said Heiko Desens, Global Creative Director and Head of Innovation. "What is just as impressive as the actual designs is the fact that we were actually able to work with development to bring these stunning designs to life."