“Puma kicked off the launch to their newly-released Suede Classics with a pop-up street gallery and store of rough-around-the-edges cool. At Why Not/Blue Boy, a disused sex cinema in downtown Amsterdam, were Parisian artist Ettek’s portraits of 12 Belgian and Dutch trendmakers wearing the sneaks, done in the style of street art from the 70s perfect for the uber-slick kicks originally launched in that era. These had already done the rounds of Antwerp and Amsterdam, wheat pasted to walls in huge format, sealing along with them Puma’s name as a hands-and-feet-on streetwear brand. Down-sized, they were set against a white washout background and punctuated with a relaxed, urban feel; words black marker-ed onto cardboard on the floor, a gaffa-tape diamond on the ceiling and huge letters made of old vinyl’s spelling out Puma’s name leant haphazardly against the walls. In between, the best of Benelux mingled with cocktails before moving on to plush club Jimmy Woo’s for a 2 hour set from DJ Scratch, all famous and shiny from the US of A; in the mix was an enormous pair of Puma’s new footcandy, which those on the dancefloor were only too happy to try out. Sightings of the night included members of Starflam and Jeugd Van Tegenwoordig. The travel arrangements of your secret agent for The Word stood out as a personal highlight; a 50-seater coach had been commissioned for guests from Brussels and Antwerp, taking off from the iconic Atomium, but we were but 3 lonesome travellers in the empty bus, myself along with two lovely Antwerp stylists, Xandra and Marjan, who later disappeared, so the return was VIP all the way! And to the after-party, I perched on a bicycle with Puma organiser Matthijs in extra-authentic Amsterdam style.”

Here’s a selection of pics of the beautiful people present at the opening

In case you had any doubt about the party's host...

Our undercover agent posing in front of one of the works on display

Big footed

Hogging the dance floor

Belgian rapper Baloji keeping it down