How Motorcore Has Gone From the Racetrack, to the Runway, to the Street

Luka Sabbat in Puma’s paddock suite at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

With its long history in motorsports, Puma has been at the forefront of the recent movement. Rihanna and A$AP Rocky dropped moto-inspired collections with the brand, and Dua Lipa and Rosé are part of the label’s new and improved Speedcat drop.

The sneaker was originally designed in 1998 as a slim, lightweight, fireproof shoe for Formula 1 drivers. Through the years, its silhouette has remained minimal, but the design has gotten sleeker, the colorways more interesting, and the materials more luxurious (and flammable).

“Shooting this campaign in the Nevada desert was such an incredible experience,” Dua Lipa tells Bazaar. “We really captured that feeling of freedom and just going where the road takes you. The Speedcat totally embodies that vibe, and I’m so glad Puma brought it back. Such timeless appeal, giving a little retro, a little modern, and it’s just so easy to wear with my everyday looks.”

Blackpink’s Rosé agrees, calling the sneaker “iconic.” She adds, “It’s all about confidence and speed, which makes it a perfect fit for my personal style.”

Emily Ratajkowski at Puma’s Speedcat event in Las Vegas.

The Speedcat is motorport fashion at its core, but its design is elegant, uncomplicated, and commercial in the best way. If motorcore is the addictive streetstyle trend of the year, the Speedcat is the gateway drug.

“We like speed, we like sport, we like driving. We’ve always pushed the Speedcat because it’s our DNA, our soul, our core,” Stefano Favaro, Puma’s creative director of team sport and motorsport, says. “And I think its comeback success is due to multiple aspects—the first being the investment that has been made into entertainment in the last two years, especially from the U.S.”

F1 aficionados like Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt (who is starring in a movie, titled F1, about the sport) are highlighted as regular presences at the races, and pop stars—pushed by brand partnerships—have taken over the front rows at Grand Prix competitions around the world.

“As you see in the paddock nowadays, there are more celebrities than drivers,” Favaro jokes.

But, the drivers have also become major household names. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz actually starred in Puma’s new Desert Sun collection campaign with Ferrari, repped by Lipa and Rosé.

Puma x Ferrari Desert Sun collection.

The second reason for the shoe’s newfound success? Its simplicity.

Favaro explains that “after many seasons of loudness, exaggerated dimensions, volume, bulky dad shoes, and brands making gimmicks,” consumers began to craze the minimal. He says, “There is this need to go back to expressing yourself as a person alongside a product that is discreet and stands for itself. It’s not an invasive shoe. It fits in well without disturbing the actual environment where you put it in.”

That is also why the Speedcat has become one of the go-to shoes to charm-ify—think colorful, cutesy bag charms, but on sneaker laces instead.

“We’re seeing more and more this this idea of individualism—the spirit of making everything that you buy look as you are as a person,” Favaro says. “It’s very difficult for a big brand like us, that works for everyone, to make customized products, but because the Speedcat is such a simple shoe, it can accept third-parties, like this jewelry trend.”

The shoe’s return, and motorcore’s rise, is also much due to people’s pull toward home. When, a couple of years ago, the fashion world was hit with a wave of nostalgia, the classic sneaker, once kicked to the depths of closets worldwide, made a triumphant comeback. Suddenly spotted on the feet of It girls including Bella Hadid, Kaia Gerber, Rosalía, Jennifer Lawrence, and EmRata, it sold out everywhere and continued to sell out for months, pushing Puma to release it again last week in the classic black and red—two colors inspired by the fast and furious racing culture.

“Young people are finding comfort in something with a heritage, something that comes from the past. We are living in a time where the future is very uncertain, especially for young people. So, this sense of nostalgia or family feeling helps us find balance. It’s very psychological.”

Puma’s own Desert Sun drop includes T-shirts with vintage-inspired graphics of cars in the hot desert, and sweatshirts, caps, and sneakers in a washed-out Ferrari red. You know, more of those “old vibes” young shoppers are drawn to.

So, despite racing culture’s starry lineup of A-list fans, it finds its roots in the genuine, the raw, and the timeless. And its fashion equivalent, motorcore, does too. “Motorsport has this very high sense of belonging,” Favaro notes. “It’s a community of people who put their life in danger every day, and it’s exciting to feel part of that rush.”

Rosa Sanchez is the senior news editor at Harper’s Bazaar, working on news as it relates to entertainment, fashion, and culture. Previously, she was a news editor at ABC News and, prior to that, a managing editor of celebrity news at American Media. She has also written features for Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue, Forbes, and The Hollywood Reporter, among other outlets.