Foot Locker Inc. has partnered up with Diadora and PUMA on special edition “Be Seen” collections in honor of Autism Acceptance Month.
To start off, Diadora enlists Sarath Ton, a former professional wrestler turned designer, to create a new take on the N9002. The silhouette features modifications for lacing and closure to ease the fastening of sneakers. The N9002 “Be Seen” also features “Awareness” on the left shoe’s tongue tab and “Acceptance” on the right, along with a tie-dye toecap showcasing the neurodiversity symbol. The sockliner also features a puzzle piece design, representing the unknowns of autism. Ton shares that his brother-in-law lives with autism and made this project very personal for him. A matching “Acceptance” tee designed by Ton and produced by nonprofit Spectrum Designs is also available for purchase.
For PUMA, the brand connects with actor and autism community advocate Ron Funches. Funches takes inspiration from his son who is on the autism spectrum to design a reimagined PUMA RS-X. The upper consists of a mix of textures and materials to heighten tactile sensory inputs and feature his son’s favorite colors on the midsole including lime green and purple. A tee will also accompany this release.
As part of this project, Foot Locker Inc. and Diadora are donating $25,000 to the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, while the retailer and PUMA are donating $25,000 to Next For Autism, along with educational programs to assist employees that are on the spectrum.
The Diadora N9002 “Be Seen” and Acceptance tee are available now exclusively via Foot Locker and Champs. The Puma RS-X is set to release at a later date.
Diadora N9002 “Be Seen”
Color: Black/Multi-Color
Style Code: 430C0200
Release Date: April 13, 2022
Price: $120 USD
PUMA RS-X “Be Seen”
Release Date: April 2022
