Puma has been stepping up their collaborations for a minute and the latest team to join their roster are designer print experts Swash London. Specialising in hand-drawn intricate patterns, the label’s Sarah Swash and Toshio Yamanka were able to elevate some of Puma’s iconic apparel and sneaker silhouettes in their debut collection for the sportswear house. Co-founder Sarah Swash answered a few quick questions about inspiration and the process behind creating a line with one of the biggest athletic companies in the world.
Can you introduce yourselves and what you do?
SWASH is Sarah Swash and Toshio Yamanka. We met in the year 2000 at Central Saint Martins studying womenswear. In 2005 we discovered Toshio’s skill for drawing when our beloved whippet Candy came into our world and Toshio decided he had to draw her. Our collections have been full of illustrated print every since.
Congratulations on the Puma collection! It seems like such an unlikely collab but it works so well. How did this Puma project come about?
PUMA contacted us out of the blue and we were super excited. Both Toshio and I love technical fabrics and sportswear construction so we were very enthusiastic about developing a sportswear focused collection
What was the inspiration behind the designs and prints used throughout the range?
The SWASH X PUMA collection is a grouping of reworked SWASH prints with the sportswear aesthetic in mind. The season features our Arctic Animals print which takes you travelling across an arctic wilderness against our Edible Incredible print with fantastical neon fruits against black. The first drop in store is the Ornithopter Sunset print, inspired by the idea of a great escape in an amazing flying machine, influenced by Otto Lilienthal’s early gliders.
How involved were you in choosing the silhouettes for this collection? What drove these choices?
We were lucky enough to be very involved in the ready-to-wear development. We came to PUMA with our own ideas and spent time working with the PUMA archive to take a play with some of their iconic styles.
What inspired you about the Blaze of Glory and XT2 sneakers?
For both trainers we wanted an athletic aesthetic. The Blaze of Glory feels like a PUMA icon and the XT2 is a running shoe with a more retro track feel.
The sportswear/high fashion collab has definitely been gaining popularity recently. What do you think attracts these two worlds to work together?
The two worlds just fit together. As fashion designers and massive sportswear fans it just feels like an obvious coupling, the link has always been there but it feels like it is a moment where the some great brands and designers are getting together.
How much has athletic wear been a part of your own lives, personally? Have you always had an affinity with Puma or the sportswear aesthetic?
Yes absolutely! We are both massive sportswear fans and love technical fabrics, finishing and details.
Personally, I love the idea of an all-over print jacket. Do you have a particular favourite piece from this collection?
Too many favourites but up there would be the Performance jacket, the Windbreaker and the rucksack.
Do you think sportswear/leisure wear is something you will pursue further following this release?
We would love to see some more SWASH X PUMA! Our own line is more about silks and wools, so the technical fabrics are not something we tend to incorporate, plus sportswear is always something done better by the experts!
If you could give our readers one styling tip for your collection, what would it be?
The arctic animals prints is super chic with grey or black and the volume in some of the pieces great contrasted with something slimmer. However, for something more crazy then mix up the prints.
PUMA x SWASH London collection
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