PUMA-sponsored football stars; Samuel Eto'o of Cameroon, John Mensah of Ghana and Emmanuel Eboué of Ivory Coast sat for Wiley as he painted three individual portraits of each player wearing their national team kits.  A fourth 'Unity' Portrait was painted with all three players together, symbolizing the united countries of Africa. The players' pose was inspired by a pendant Wiley discovered while touring the Continent. In the 'Unity' Portrait, the players are wearing the PUMA Unity Kit, a limited edition uniform designed to be a third kit shared by all African teams, symbolizing unity. The brown pigment in the kit is a customized pantone PUMA created by mixing actual soil samples from four different African nations—Ghana, Cameroon, Cote D'Ivoire and Mozambique. The brown to blue color gradient represents the soil to the sky progression.  In each portrait, Wiley captures the essence of each player using the rich heritage, customs and people of Africa as inspiration.

"PUMA is fortunate to have partnered with such a pivotal artist as Kehinde Wiley," said Antonio Bertone, Chief Marketing Office, PUMA AG.  "His keen eye for design, color and composition, brilliantly capture the spirit and passion of Africa – and the players he painted. His style perfectly complements the vibrant culture of modern Africa and the PUMA brand."

The individual portraits, measuring 5 feet by 6 feet and the 'Unity' portrait measuring 9 feet by 12 feet, will be unveiled in Berlin on January, 20 2010. The portraits will then travel as an exhibition beginning in February to Paris, London, New York, Beijing and Milan, ending in South Africa in June for the World Cup.

PUMA, best known for the sponsorship of 12 African national football teams, is expanding its reach beyond the pitch by create African-inspired lifestyle products and artwork that is relevant and understandable to a younger generation in tandem with Wiley. To that end, Kehinde Wiley has also lent some of his unforgettable patterns to the PUMA Spring Summer 2010 PUMA Africa lifestyle collection of apparel, footwear and accessories.  The PUMA Africa collection uses seven graphic patterns from Wiley's existing work and integrates them throughout the bright, bold, color-blocking patterns of the collection. The collaboration between PUMA and Kehinde Wiley is part of a larger Africa-themed campaign PUMA is embarking on in advance of World Cup 2010, which will be held in South Africa in June.

Born in Los Angeles to an African American mother and a Nigerian father, Wiley describes his relationship with Africa as "one of searching and longing." Kehinde, which means "second born of twins" in Yoruba, grew up without knowing his father and curiosity led him to Nigeria at the age of 20 to retrace his roots. Upon meeting his father, Wiley completed a series of portraits of him, and later, in 2007, returned to Africa to compile a body of work entitled "The World Stage: Africa Lagos-Dakar," which was exhibited at the Studio Museum in Harlem.  At age 32, he represents the African-American cultural explosion that has gripped the world. With an MFA from the esteemed Yale University School of Art, Kehinde Wiley's work is sought after in major galleries around the world. 

Media Contact:

Yves Coulter
PUMA
Yves.Coulter@puma.com
tel.: +49 9132 81 2705

Meg Parker
PUMA
Meg.Parker@puma.com
tel: 978-996-3897

PUMA

PUMA is one of the world's leading Sportlifestyle companies that designs and develops footwear, appar­­el and accessories. It is committed to working in ways that contribute to the world by supporting Peace, Creativity, and SAFE Sustainability, and by staying true to the values of being Fair, Honest, Positive and Creative in decisions made and actions taken. PUMA starts in Sport and ends in Fashion. Its Sport Performance and Lifestyle labels include categories such as Football, Running, Motorsports, Golf and Sailing. The Black label features collaborations with renowned designers such as Alexander McQueen, Yasuhiro Mihara and Sergio Rossi. The PUMA Group owns the brands PUMA, Tretorn and Hussein Chalayan. The company, which was founded in 1948, distributes its products in more than 120 countries, employs more than 9,000 people worldwide and has headquarters in Herzogenaurach/Germany, Boston, London and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit www.puma.com

Kehinde Wiley has gained worldwide acclaim as an artist for his portraits of famous African Americans depicted in classical poses and set against Wiley's signature bold graphic backgrounds. These brilliantly-colored patterns have become Wiley's calling card and are featured in the line of apparel, footwear and accessories that he recently designed for PUMA. Intensity and passion are two words synonymous with his creations; they also capture the spirit of what it is to be a football player and fan.

PUMA players Samuel Eto'o, John Mensah and Emmanuel Eboué will all wear this limited edition boot in their matches during the Champions League, starting December 9th and through their respective league games during the weekend of December 19/20th. All three players will sign their boots, which will be auctioned off in 2010 to benefit PUMA's charity of choice for World Cup.

PUMA's Limited Edition v1.10 Kehinde Wiley Boot not only makes a statement with the Wiley- designed graphic, but it delivers the most advanced technology available to date. The second generation of the Uni-construction provides a better touch of the ball by having an updated, softer toe area. The laces are covered in order to provide a clean kicking area, and the lightweight upper materials combine textiles with a soft, highly-abrasion-resistant, lightweight micro-fiber that translates into a significantly better ball touch. At the same time, the carbon fiber plate in the outsole reduces the stud pressure and increases reactivity, while keeping the weight of the product down. Form meets function in this statement product from PUMA that's sure to be a collector's item.

Only 302 pairs of PUMA's Limited Edition v1.10 Kehinde Wiley Boot will be manufactured and each will be individually numbered. The boots will be available for sale at select retail locations. Information about retail locations carrying the performance boot is also available at http://www.pumafootball.com.

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International Media Contacts:

Clara Mattioli
Int'l PUMA PR
+49 9132 81 2961
Clara.mattioli@puma.com

Meg Parker
Int'l PUMA PR
+617-488-1019
Meg.Parker@puma.com

PUMA is one of the world's leading sportlifestyle companies that designs and develops footwear, apparel and accessories. It is committed to working in ways that contribute to the world by supporting Creativity, SAFE Sustainability and Peace, and by staying true to the values of being Fair, Honest, Positive and Creative in decisions made and actions taken. PUMA starts in Sport and ends in Fashion. Its Sport Performance and Lifestyle labels include categories such as Football, Running, Motorsports, Golf and Sailing. The Black label features collaborations with renowned designers such as Alexander McQueen, Yasuhiro Mihara and Sergio Rossi. The PUMA Group owns the brands PUMA, Tretorn and Hussein Chalayan. The company, which was founded in 1948, distributes its products in more than 120 countries, employs more than 9,000 people worldwide and has headquarters in Herzogenaurach/Germany, Boston, London and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit www.puma.com