June Ambrose Is Taking Her Talents to Puma

From ELLE

With a career spanning over two decades, June Ambrose has long been the go-to stylist celebrities call. Missy Elliott's black "Michelin Man" suit? June Ambrose. Jay-Z's fashion evolution from hip-hop superstar to mogul? June Ambrose. Now the fashion veteran is taking her talents to Puma as its new creative director.

It was announced today, October 5, that Ambrose will be designing for Puma's women's and girl's lines. After Jay-Z introduced the stylist to Bjørn Gulden, Puma’s chief executive officer, and Adam Petrick, Puma's global director of brand and marketing, Ambrose knew a collaboration was on the horizon.

"The connection between style and sport is timeless and it’s something I’ve always wanted to put my spin on,” Ambrose said in a statement. "Beyond the collections, it’s important to me that the collaboration is rooted in social impact, and Puma’s work in the social justice space to empower youth through sport makes them the perfect partner."

While the exact details of the collaboration have not yet been revealed, Petrick told WWD that he felt an "immediate connection and an alignment of vision — an opportunity to fuse sportswear with fashion styling details." He is confident Ambrose will transform the brand's women's offerings: "She’s not a designer in the classic sense, she’s a creator but she’ll be getting a chance to flex her design skills."

“The female athlete is underserved by a lot of brands and we believe there’s an opportunity to bring style, fashion and innovation to footwear and apparel in general, particularly in basketball," he told WWD. With her new role, Ambrose wants to put an emphasis on gender equality.

"Why can’t a guy wear our pieces?” she asked. "With everything going on with gender neutrality, it’ll be fun to see where this goes." Ambrose's first collection for Puma will debut next summer.

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