Puma ambassador Zaya Wade recently designed her first shoe for the brand.
In creating her custom Puma sneakers, Zaya cited “Good Days” from Sza’s SOS album and Beyonce’s “All Up in Your Mind” from the Renaissance album as her main sources of inspiration.
“I’m so excited to share my custom Palermos with everyone. I had so much fun with the designing process and being able to incorporate music into them,” Zaya wrote in an Instagram post. “Music has been such a vital part of my life, and the SOS and Renaissance albums are two albums that have had a great impact on me, so I had to reflect on my takeaway from those albums. ‘Good days on my mind’ and ‘All up in your mind’ both speak to my feelings about 2023 and how I’ve grown as a person.”
The post prompted comments from her parents. Dwyane Wade described himself as a “proud papa,” Gabrielle Union wrote “love” underneath her husband’s comment.
The 16-year-old starred in Miu Miu’s latest fall/winter campaign in July. The collection featured several top-notch models, including Zaya, actors Emma Corrin, Mia Goth, Zhao Jinmai, singer-songwriter Ethel Cain and models Amelia Gray Hamlin and Annabelle Weatherly. The campaign’s cast delivered a message of representation. It captured “the notion of movement everywhere and nowhere” and “a place between real-time and time to come.”
“My confidence has grown. I’ve stepped into myself, especially starting out,” Zaya told ELLE about her foray into the fashion industry. “I obviously came out as trans, and it was a very confusing time. I didn’t know everything about myself, but having that expression through clothing allowed me to come into my own. It gave me a level of confidence that I have needed and will probably need forever. It gave me the confidence to thrive.”
Zaya has modeled for Marni, Tiffany & Co., and Puma. In April, she made her magazine cover debut, landing a prominent feature in the Spring 2023 issue of DAZED.
