Rhuigi Villasenor, the founder and artistic director of the Californian brand RHUDE, unveils a footwear collaboration with the equipment manufacturer PUMA. The young designer decided to bring his touch to the legendary Suede silhouette.
Born in the Philippines, Rhuigi Villasenor traveled a lot during his childhood. After leaving his native country, he lived in Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and Thailand before arriving in the United States at the age of 11. All these different backgrounds have given him a variety of influences and a particular talent for fusing them. His designs mix street style with a British punk spirit and touches of high fashion. Also relying on classic essentials and unexpected prints or colors, Villasenor’s label intertwines styles and acts as an enthusiastic and bold reflection on the fashion of tomorrow.
The reimagined Suede is made with premium materials in a vintage color combination. It consists of a light grey suede upper with innovative off-white leather overlays. The brown faux crocodile leather insert at the heel adds an extra luxury side to the shoe. A nice touch of contrast is provided by the PUMA side stripe in fir green. To affirm the collaboration, the logos are combined on the tongue tag and on the graphic insole. The off-white laces are much wider than on the traditional iterations. This can be seen as a nod to 90’s skateboarding shoes. The vintage look is finalized by a grey hairy suede tongue and a yellowed rubber sole.
The Rhuigi Villasenor x PUMA Suede has just been released at selected retailers such as AFEW, SNS or BSTN, priced at 80$. Pairs are selling out fast, don’t sleep !
