ManCat for PUMA courtesy of Nick Knight.
PUMA: Alexander McQueen
One of PUMA’s Black Station high-end collaborations was with Alexander McQueen and I was so privileged to be involved with the season this partnership was to come to fruition.
The PR release from Team McQueen stated:
“The collection inspiration is derived from human anatomy, specifically the human foot, with specific references to the tendon structures, vein formations and toe prints. This season the study of anatomy evolves with the exploration of the ribcage and the symmetry of its components.”
McQueen reached out to Nick Knight for a visual that would convey the inspiration for the PUMA collaboration which is how the ManCat came into existence.
BlackBook Editorial Print Advertisement
The fashion industry caught word about the PUMA + McQueen collaboration and Blackbook offered PUMA a rare opportunity to place an exclusive ad in their magazine. I immediately knew this ad had to be unusual and out-of-the-box.
With McQueen’s inspiration of the human anatomy I came up with the concept of working with transparent vellum where the reader would literally peel away the layers of the human anatomy to reveal the PUMA + McQueen collaboration shown in the images below.
I personally believed it accomplished communicating McQueen’s inspiration of human anatomy as well as the introduction of Nick Knight’s ManCat. Most of all we saw a huge drive in traffic to the micro site when the publication released.
Microsite
The microsite was a means for PUMA to announce the newest high-end collaboration with Alexander McQueen. It would be the first unveiling of the ManCat.
What was important for me was to keep the inspiration essence present throughout the site. Nick Knight’s ManCat provided a new vision of the puma, and McQueen’s inspiration of the human anatomy both had to be prevalent within the microsite.
Shoebox
Another honorary task for this project was being asked to design the retail shoeboxes for PUMA + McQueen. The punched holes on the side mimicked the pegs on our Black Station walls in retail stores which all tied in to our other marketing materials. As the consumer slid off the cover to get to their shoes the ManCat was revealed on the sides.
In the world of marketing where campaigns normally end their lifespan within two years I am so proud to say PUMA is still using this box design after a decade.