A$AP Rocky’s PUMA Launch in Manhattan Evacuated After a Fight Brought Out the NYPD
A$AP Rocky’s PUMA sneaker celebration in Manhattan ended with an evacuation Thursday night after a fight broke out inside the event and police were called. Rocky attended the launch — he did not take part in the altercation, according to reports.
The NYPD said officers answered a call at 10:30 p.m. and encountered a group behaving disorderly. TMZ obtained footage of people exchanging punches and grappling inside the commercial building as security stepped in, with uniformed officers outside keeping the remaining crowd calm. The gathering was ultimately cleared. Whether anyone was arrested has not been established.
The night was built around Rocky’s New York roots, not a concert: PUMA staged a Chelsea rave celebrating the skate and hip-hop scenes that helped give the Suede its identity, launching his updated Suede ’94 — navy, with a deliberately weathered finish, gold detailing and a gum sole — plus a hoodie and a T-shirt pulled from the company’s archive. The collection went on sale worldwide on November 12.
“I chose to carry the washed effect throughout to give them a slightly worn-in feel, as if you’ve really broken them in,” Rocky said of the design.
Rocky has spent more than three years in a creative-director role with PUMA and directed this campaign himself — shot in Berlin by photographer Spyder. It is the latest chapter in a fashion run that already includes his selection as the CFDA’s 2025 Fashion Icon, his AWGE runway work and a creative-director appointment at Ray-Ban.
The shoes dropped on schedule. The launch party just didn’t survive the night. Chaos at the drop — does a night like this help the rollout or bury it? 👇
