WATCH: Kylie Verzosa, Jericho Rosales' son, Marlon Stockinger slay Puma runway
MANILA, Philippines — Beauty queen-turned-actress Kylie Verzosa was the only rose among the celebrity thorns that recently modeled the autumn/winter 2023 collection of global sports brand Puma in Makati City.
Joining Kylie on the catwalk were former motorsports and racing driver Marlon Stockinger, model-actor Daniel Matsunaga, and model-football player Santino Rosales, son of actor Jericho Rosales. Basketball star Kai Sotto was also introduced as the brand’s first-ever Filipino ambassador.
Verzosa and Sotto respectively represent Filipinos’ love for beauty pageants and basketball in the Filipino culture-inspired fashion showcase that even presented a jeepney styled like a Puma sneaker.
The brand’s Southeast Asia Marketing Head Eleanor Wang told Philstar.com that among the collection’s key pieces are its colorful basketball line that embodies the season’s brand values and the show’s theme – joyful, bravery and confidence.
For summer, Wang recommended their running shoes that bear the label’s latest technology and silhouette that enable runners to prevent injuries, quickly recover and be back on track should they fall off course. According to her, global reviews have given the running shoes two-thumbs up in terms of comfort and performance.
“We know that K-pop is a big thing in the Philippines, right? So what will happen is for spring-summer 2023, we will work with NCT127, (who is) also the face of our campaign and we will continue to see them as the faces of our campaign,” Wang declared.
Besides the AW2023 collection, Wang had another announcement that could hype up the brand’s fans: Rihanna has confirmed her return to the brand via the singer’s new Fenty collection that will be available in Puma stores by the third to fourth quarter of this year.
The brand has also sealed a collaboration deal with KidSuper, a big Paris Fashion Week new designer label who has curated French fashion house Louis Vuitton’s Fall/Winter 2023 menswear collection.
Puma opened its first flagship store last November in Glorietta, Makati City and now has 22 franchise stores nationwide. As part of its expansion plans in the market, the German sports brand will open a few new stores this quarter in Metro Manila, Laguna and Cebu.
“The Philippines, being a nation of loyal sports fans and fashion-savvy consumers, has so much potential and presents a lot of wonderful opportunities for the brand. This was a major factor in our decision to come in stronger as a full-on subsidiary and increase our presence in every aspect of the business,” said the label’s Philippines Country Manager Paolo Misa.
