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The Whitaker Group and PUMA are kicking off their first collaborative retail project with the Suede CODA “Echo Points,” the first chapter within CODA, a broader multi-season platform exploring how culture is shaped, exchanged, and carried forward.
“Echo Points” explores the value of connection: how sharing your craft, building meaningful relationships, and finding the people who recognize something in what you do can create new possibilities. That message comes through on the Suede CODA, which arrives in three vintage-inspired colorways: Flaxen, Chambray, and Red Rhythm.
The campaign centers on one Pittsburgh-based creative cohort representing three distinct disciplines: The Mixologist, The Curator, and The Sound Architect. Together, the three archetypes connect the footwear to hospitality, intentional connection, and sound as cultural languages that shape how people gather, exchange ideas, and build influence.
The Mixologist connects the story to hospitality and the rituals that bring people into shared space. Through cocktail creation and storytelling, the discipline explores how a simple gesture can become an invitation into conversation, connection, and belonging.
The Curator focuses on the power of intentional pairing. With an instinct for bringing together the right people, perspectives, and experiences, the discipline creates moments that feel natural, meaningful, and capable of becoming something more.
The Sound Architect connects the story to music as movement. Through rhythm and sonic storytelling, the discipline explores how sound shapes energy, emotion, and the social environments where culture is felt in real time. Additional details surrounding the cohort journey and activations will be shared across The Whitaker Group’s social media channels.
“We believe the most meaningful ideas are rarely built alone,” says The Whitaker Group founder James Whitner. “This cohort brings together people with different disciplines, perspectives, and ways of creating because connection is where possibility begins. When the right people share space, exchange knowledge, and invest in one another, they create something that can grow beyond any one person or moment.”
Each pair of CODA Suedes features a faded suede upper, fuzzy laces, contrast stitching, and henna-inspired detailing, giving the classic Suede a worn-in character while keeping the design relatively understated. The three colorways each bring their own take on the palette, with the muted tones reinforcing the project’s nostalgic approach to the silhouette.
“Echo Points” marks the beginning of CODA, the official name of PUMA and The Whitaker Group’s ongoing partnership. Rather than functioning as a one-off collaboration, CODA is a multi-season storytelling platform that will unfold through footwear, apparel, experiences, and creative projects. The concept is rooted in the idea of taking what has been inherited from previous generations and pushing it forward, with each chapter examining how creators, artists, thinkers, and tastemakers reinterpret legacy through sport, style, design, and culture.
The name CODA comes from music, where a coda serves as the concluding passage of a composition. For PUMA and The Whitaker Group, it represents the space between one chapter ending and another beginning—the point where what came before becomes the starting point for what comes next.
EQL draws for The Whitaker Group x PUMA Suede CODA “Echo Points” collection are now open via A Ma Maniére, Social Status, APB, and JAIDE, with entries accepted through August 17th at 3pm ET. The collection officially releases August 21st at 12pm ET online and in-store at A Ma Maniére, Social Status, APB, and JAIDE. Check out the three colorways below.
The Whitaker Group x PUMA Suede CODA “Flaxen”
Release Date: August 21, 2026
Price: $130 USD
The Whitaker Group x PUMA Suede CODA “Chambray”
Release Date: August 21, 2026
Price: $130 USD
The Whitaker Group x PUMA Suede CODA “Red Rhythm”
Release Date: August 21, 2026
Price: $130 USD
