With the start of the football world's biggest tournament only several days away, the energy was already palpable in Los Angeles, one of the tournament’s sixteen host cities, on June 4, when Puma hosted an event at Downtown LA’s The Row to celebrate the new Puma x Salehe Bembury collection.

Ahead of this summer’s games, the legendary footwear designer teamed up with Puma to design a collection of travel wear and goalkeeper kits for Puma’s 11 national federations. “The goal was never just to design sportswear,” Bembury told Dazed ahead of the release. “It was to contribute to a much larger visual and emotional language that already means so much to people globally.” 

That visual language was evident at last week’s celebration, where football lovers and local creatives gathered to experience the products for themselves. Between the picture-perfect LA weather, a stacked DJ lineup curated by Favela Worldwide and the jubilant energy that only a major sports tournament can bring, the night was the ideal kick-off – pun-intended – to the city’s football-filled summer.

Below, we unpack what went down.

THERE WERE JERSEYS GALORE

Is it just us, or are football jerseys everywhere lately? Naturally, last Thursday’s event was no exception. There, guests got a first look at Bembury’s new designs, which take inspiration from the heritage and identity of each of the national teams.

FRESH KICKS WERE ON DISPLAY, TOO

What’s a Bembury collab without a pair of slick shoes? Along with the jerseys, the designer’s new collection also includes the Velum 1 Akita, a sneaker inspired by the psychological shift players experience when going on and off the field. At The Row, the new shoes were already spotted on guests’ feet.

DESIGNER FOR A DAY

Not everyone can spin up collabs with major fashion brands, but that doesn’t mean there’s not a designer hidden in all of us. At the event, attendees got to show off their creative side at The Panel Patch Lab, where custom patches were made using heat-pressing, engraving and stamps.

THE MUSIC WENT ALL NIGHT

Aside from sports and fashion, a major theme of the night was music, with sets from D33J, Siobhan Bell, 2D0GS (SEES0000 and J!MMY), Brian Vidal and Sophie Gray. With a DJ lineup that varied, it’s safe to say there was a sound for everyone.