Puma • Radical Manifesto
ICONISING THE 180
THE BRIEF
PUMA-180 is a silhouette hooked into the late 90’s-00’s skate sneaker culture, based on oversized padding, chunky shapes and lo-fi technical uppers. The brand came to us with the aim to iconise the 180 through a local campaign which taps into the culture of noughties-nostalgia and skate aesthetics. We needed to create a platform which drove resonance and embedded the Puma 180 within the trend.
WHAT WE DID
To reinterpret the skate aesthetic in an authentic way for the UK, we focused on the intersection between the trend and how it’s expressed by trend enthusiasts: through cross-pollination with other global counter-cultural references and by incorporating a touch of new luxury. We researched the history - and predicted the future - of the skater trend to inform our creative direction, and landed on the idea of a ‘Radical Manifesto’ which celebrated the counterculture mindset of the trend.
Radical manifesto, saw us craft a visual narrative and world that celebrates contemporary counterculture, taking reference from old skate zines. Shooting in London, a global cultural capital where influences from all over the world converge in our style aesthetics, we captured Mahalia in a way that takes cues from skate culture but done with a fresh, alternative aesthetic.
We created a rich visual narrative that hones in on the parallels between Mahalia’s rich catalogue of work that’s rooted in radical self expression and the unbridled creativity of counterculture. This is underpinned with Mahalia’s own radical manifesto video, touching on what London means to her and more broadly her evolving style and how she’s expressing herself within that. A moving, emotive piece with her iconic voice shining through.
William Arcand brought this to life with his textured and playful imagery, complete with his signature colour grade and embellished with Digi Fairy-designed stickers. Director duo Uncanny collaborated with us to bring the spoken Manifesto to life with their hand-printed and scanned technique. Charlotte Moss styled this, whose work embodies the skate trend and brought the 180 to life with layering and lived-in looks.
