Salehe Bembury Explains How the PUMA Hali 1 Came to Fruition

The silhouette of the Hali 1 draws direct inspiration from the smoothness of Haliburton's playstyle. Bembury's design language introduces unexpected lines, amplified PUMA Cat branding and Tyrese's signature logo on the tongue creating a visually dynamic shoe that stands out both on and off the court.

To complement the launch, Bembury's creative storytelling will also redefine the consumer experience. The campaign introduces Hali Mart, an immersive grocery-shopping world that mirrors Haliburton's unique personality and playful approach to the game.

In partnership with Foot Locker, Hali Mart will open for one day only in Indianapolis on September 25, giving fans an exclusive first look.

The Hali Mart pop-up located at 901 N Pennsylvania Street, Indianapolis, will be open from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. with both Haliburton and Bembury in attendance. A total of 317 pairs of the Hali 1 'Opal' will be available at the pop-up—an intentional nod to Indy's iconic area code—before the wider global release.

Bembury took Sports Illustrated's Kicks On SI behind the design process with an exclusive interview that highlights the groundbreaking partnership.

It's been just over a year since you took over as Director of Basketball Design. How quickly did you begin working on the PUMA Hali 1?

So really the first order of business was figuring out who we were going to sign to create a signature franchise with. So we sat down and reviewed a list of NBA players, and I selected Tyrese after maybe an hour of conversation.

That was from my knowledge of the NBA, and I saw what he did to the Knicks in the playoffs earlier. So that was a very tangible example of his ability. So we signed him.

That was a longer process than just signing to him; we obviously had to pitch ourselves as a brand, and myself as a designer, and then the next order of business was to design the shoe. So it probably had to happen a few weeks after we signed him, putting pen to paper.

Did you enter the project with ideas for the model, or was it a blank slate?

It was virtually a blank slate, but being someone who grew up playing basketball, I know that once you get familiar with the feel, weight, or function of a basketball shoe, just drastically making a change could just feel strange for any basketball player.

So, acknowledging that he had been wearing a certain shoe for years previous, we did a lot of studying and analysis of that shoe to make sure that this transition was seamless for him, and one of the biggest priorities for him was achieving a certain weight.

What kind of collaborative partner was Tyrese like during the design process?

Well, I think that one thing that's great about Tyrese is that he has a personal love for fashion, and with a love for fashion comes a love and some level of understanding of color, composition, and shape. So he's been an amazing partner to work with.

And then furthermore, with any collaborative exercise, there has to be a level of trust. So within this period of time, however long it's been, we've developed a friendship, and through that, he trusts my opinions, and then I've also gotten him to allow me to speak from the heart.

Because a lot of the time in some of these relationships with players, egos can be involved and potentially the people that are working with them aren't speaking honestly, they're more focused on keeping that player happy.

I think one of the first things I asked him was that if I could be truthfully honest with him, and sometimes honesty doesn't always come out the best, but it's for a greater good. So we're on a very eye-to-eye and on a very similar plane, and those kinds of things, so it's made the creative process extremely easy.

Do you remember any specific design aspects he really liked?

He loves the cat under the collar, the PUMA Cat under the collar, because that's never been done at PUMA, and it just fits so perfectly under that design line. So just having that just harmonious placement of branding really made him happy. He also loved that we actually did achieve the weight that he wanted to play in.

We did the final wear-test. We actually blindfolded him and put his previous shoe in one hand and then his Hali 1 in the other, and we asked him to identify which was his shoe, and he actually identified the wrong shoe, which was great because that was the one that was the weight we were trying to achieve. So that was a fun exercise.

Additionally, he's a huge fan of the traction. For the outsole, I gave it just a full herringbone traction pattern. There's nothing else besides maybe a PUMA logo hit. And that came from acknowledging that this is his first shoe, so I don't think we need to go crazy. We are establishing the route for many shoes.

But then, at the same time, I think one of the most important things for a designer to exercise is restraint. There's so many outsoles that I turn over and they're just so overdesigned, and you can tell that the designer was just trying to put every bit of their soul into the shoe, and it almost feels a little too based in ego, and I really more so just wanted to solve for function and give us a place to evolve from.

What is your favorite part of the shoe?

I think my favorite part of the shoe is the shape. The shape is the most important aspect of a shoe. There are many shoes out of the market that are bad simply because they did not honor the shape part of the initial part of the conversation.

And so that was the first thing we obsessed over, and I think it has a beautiful toe pitch and stance and on-court appeal, and that all comes from the obsession that took place in regards to just simply shape.

You and Tyrese have teased multiple colorways. They were all brightly colored. Was that just a coincidence, or is it part of a larger strategy?

So don't quote me on the period of time, but let's say seven to ten years ago, the NBA changed the rule where your sneakers did not have to, in some way, shape, or form, match your jerseys.

And when that happened, there was this shift where there was this blast of color, and whereas there was a period of time where lime green or yellow may have been like polarizing and crazy. Now that's rather normal.

So I would say to give any hint in how we are approaching color, moving forward, is that there's nothing wrong with being polarizing, but we have to be intentional with our color usage so that it doesn't feel like we're just putting a rainbow in a shoe to get attention.

Last question: What is your vision for the future of the PUMA Hali line?

I think it's really about properly creating a franchise from both a brand standpoint, a product standpoint, and a footwear standpoint. The product should feel like a family.

There will be no overdesigning unless there is a call for that, and I think it's important that each shoe and everything that we create feels like an evolution of an idea that's based off of the story that we're telling through Tyrese and his heritage and the success that he's had it on and off the court, I think that will all live within the footwear.

And then lastly, you know, adding to the roster of amazing product and players that exist within the PUMA basketball world.

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