Sportswear brand Puma collaborates with fashion designer Masaba Gupta.

True to the global sneaker-head culture of releasing limited pairs from high-profile collaborations, only 50 pairs of Gupta’s hand-painted sneakers will be sold in India.

German sportswear and lifestyle brand Puma has collaborated with Indian fashion designer Masaba Gupta to launch a limited edition range of sneakers. True to the global sneaker-head culture of releasing limited pairs from high-profile collaborations, only 50 pairs of Gupta’s hand-painted sneakers will be sold in India. Gupta has designed two lines in this collection addressing the growing emotional health concerns like anxiety in today’s youngsters. “Anxiety seems like a curse on this generation and therefore the anti-anxiety shoe sheds light on this issue. Identity is another issue that needs to be addressed,” said Gupta, who has collaborated with a brand to design sneakers for the first time.

While this is the first time that Puma India has collaborated with a fashion designer to design sneakers, the brand had roped in designer Aki Narula to design an athleisure apparel line for women almost a decade ago. Puma’s current roster of celebrity faces in India includes cricketer ViratKohli, boxing champion Mary Kom and actress Sara Ali Khan. Masaba Gupta’s Puma range will be sold through the sportswear brand’s online channel and one flagship store in Mumbai. Gupta’s fashion label, House of Masaba, also recently raised $1 million in the first round of funding led by Flipkart-cofounder Binny Bansal.