After more than a decade of partnership, it appears the relationship between Rihanna and PUMA has officially come to an end. First launched back in 2014, the partnership immediately became one of the defining collaborations of the athleisure era, helping reshape the women’s sneaker market at a time when sportswear was rapidly becoming integrated into everyday fashion.
Appointed as a Creative Director by PUMA upon the FENTY partnership becoming official, Rihanna quickly helped turn silhouettes like the PUMA Creeper into global hits, creating a level of cultural momentum that many brands have struggled to replicate. The timing was perfect: sneakers were exploding in popularity among women consumers while fashion increasingly embraced sport-inspired styling.
The original run of the partnership concluded in 2018 (officially 2017, the final collection launched Spring 2018) before eventually being revived in 2023. However, the second chapter never quite captured the same energy as the first, and much of that can likely be attributed to how dramatically the women’s sneaker landscape evolved during the years in between. Competition became significantly more crowded, trend cycles moved faster, and nearly every major sportswear brand began investing aggressively into women-focused product and storytelling.
During the revival era from 2023-2026, Rihanna and PUMA leaned harder into the brand’s football archive through silhouettes like the PUMA Avanti, but the product ultimately struggled to generate the same widespread cultural impact that the Creeper once commanded. Another version of the Creeper was also introduced, but to limited fanfare from the original fanbase.
News surrounding the partnership’s reported conclusion was first shared by sneaker industry writer Lois Sakany, who additionally noted that PUMA’s relationship with A$AP Rocky may also be nearing its end. Sneaker News can confirm that Rocky still has additional product scheduled for release throughout 2026, although the long-term future of that partnership remains unclear.
Perhaps most interestingly, Rihanna was recently spotted wearing the Nike Moon Shoe by Jacquemus, one of the most successful women-focused collaborations from Nike in recent memory. The Jacquemus partnership not only helped reintroduce Nike’s Moon Shoe-inspired design language to modern audiences, but also successfully re-engaged portions of the women’s sneaker market in ways many competitors have struggled to achieve. It’s been heavily shared that the Moon Shoe has been a favorite of celebs, so perhaps Rihanna was merely hopping into the movement now that she is contractually free to do so.
Of course, Rihanna wearing Nike does not automatically suggest a future partnership with the Swoosh. But when someone of her stature makes a footwear choice publicly, especially within fashion and sneaker culture, people inevitably begin reading between the lines.
What comes next for Rihanna may ultimately have less to do with sneakers and more to do with reconnecting to the thing that made her one of the most influential cultural figures on the planet in the first place: music.
There’s no questioning the success she’s achieved outside of recording. Her business ventures in cosmetics and lingerie fundamentally shifted expectations within the industry while proving Rihanna’s ability to build businesses far beyond celebrity licensing deals. But in the fashion and beauty world, maintaining long-term relevance becomes increasingly difficult when the market moves at today’s speed. Competition intensifies yearly, and brands constantly need fresh energy and storytelling to stay ahead.
That reality may help explain why the revived PUMA partnership struggled to recapture the magic of its original run. The first era succeeded not just because of product, but because Rihanna herself felt culturally untouchable at the time. She was dominating music, fashion, celebrity culture, and social conversation simultaneously. The sneakers became extensions of that larger moment. Meanwhile, PUMA has gone through hardships in recent years, culminating in Chinese brand ANTA acquiring a majority stake of the company for $1.8 billion.
© Sneaker News, 2026. |
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The post Rihanna's Partnership With PUMA Has Come To An End
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