Puma & Rosé Launch The Sneaker Of The Summer In Seoul

Fashion famously operates on a massive pendulum. Pants swing from superskinny to ultrabaggy, and shoes have also followed suit. The chunky “dad” sneakers of yesteryear are no more. Puma has led the charge in sneaker-shrinking, most recently with the celebrity-endorsed Speedcat, which has claimed the top prize of low-profile “bloke” sneaks. A new bombshell is entering the metaphorical footwear villa this summer, though, in the form of Puma’s new H-Street sneaker. In true Puma style, the brand didn’t silently announce the shoe but rather hosted a blowout four-day experience in Seoul to commemorate what we predict will be 2025’s breakout sneaker star.

The German sneaker brand knows its global audience, and Gregor Abenstein, head of Puma Select, told press they chose the South Korean city for the launch because it’s a “hub for global fashion innovation” and the shoe “fits very well with Seoul’s dynamic streetwear.” Indeed, the style of K-pop stars like Itzy’s Yeji and The Boyz’s Juyeon, and, of course, Rosé, were successful in showing off how many ways the H-Street can be worn.

The H-Street activation spanned four days and featured a laundry list of collaborators across music, fashion, beauty, and lifestyle. Puma tapped into Seoul’s culture of streetwear and its global network by bringing Cold Archive and Inside Tag to South Korea, with Cold Archive offering up local hairstylists and nail artists for free cuts and manis, as Inside Tag was responsible for highlighting Puma’s track-and-field-heavy archive by bringing its personal selection that traces the ’90s-inspired silhouettes that led to the updated relaunch of the 2003 H-Street.

So what makes the H-Street different from the Speedcat, and indeed different from its older sister? Where the Speedcat takes its cues from the tracks of Formula 1, the H-Street pays homage to the late ’90s Harambee, which was a racing style made for flying around a track. The new H-Street is lighter, more fashion-forward, and offers that on-the-ground feeling that feels both retro and futuristic. Puma’s ability to span decades of street and sport culture continues to pay off, with innovators at the brand tapping directly into its archives and also turning their lenses globally: The kids of Seoul were drawn to the activation for its local and global reach, and a sense of community focused around the shoe is bound to get the girls and guys shopping.

The H-Street will launch internationally on June 28 in the first three colors of Black, Fizzy Green (when asked why choose such a bold color to launch with, Abenstein said because it’s “energetic and in your face”), and Frosted Ivory, with more colorways like the sky blue above slated for release later in the year. We have a feeling that we’ll see the red on Dua Lipa, and the black and white styles all over our Instagram feeds come summer.