This Is the Future of Fashion and Formula 1

June Ambrose, PUMA’s creative director and a longtime disruptor in the fashion industry, is just the person to stage the effort. Sitting down with her in the paddock after the panel she sat on with Petrick, former W Series driver and F1 commentator Naomi Schiff, and Roc Nation’s Emory Jones, Ambrose expressed the importance of F1 embracing street culture and the fashion world, rather than solely focusing its efforts on its existing fans and people who are already interested in racing. The sport, after all, has always had a loyal following—that’s not going to change. The goal, in her mind, is to build out F1’s reach, welcoming new consumers who, in the past, would have never thought to engage with the sport or didn’t believe there a spot for them in it. “Once they start to immerse themselves [in fashion and culture] and move away a little bit from the track, [it will start to] show that [F1] is a lifestyle brand that’s on its way somewhere—not just to the track but to a red carpet or a luxury event,” she says. In Ambrose’s mind, only then will Formula 1 break into culture in a real way.

The most significant opportunity that PUMA’s partnership with F1 brings to the sport, though, is this: Women. “We believe that bringing our existing female audience to the world of F1 is one of the important roles we can plan to support our new partnership,” he says. “We have already leveraged relationships with female designers and content creators around the sport many times, and we will continue to do so.” Ambrose is especially passionate about spotlighting and catering to female consumers, fans, creators, and especially drivers in the world of motorsport—all of whom have, for the majority of F1’s almost 75-year history, been left out of the conversation.

One way she’s moving the needle is by finding ambassadors—female ambassadors—who can have a foot in both F1 and fashion and in turn, carry the conversations surrounding the two entities into a more inclusive future. “Who are those arbiters, ambassadors, and lifestyle icons that you connect to the brand? That’s what is going to make the difference,” she says. “What are we influenced by? It’s not just the sport and it’s not just the cars.” Lewis Hamilton has proven time and time again that straddling the fashion and sporting worlds is no impossible feat. But he can’t be the only one, says Ambrose, and with her position as the creative head of a brand as influential in both fashion and motorsport as PUMA is, she believes it’s her duty to find women who will dare to push the boundaries in fashion and express themselves fully, no matter who questions them, and force the sport to accept outside perspectives. “We need that female driver that’s going to carry the conversation like Lewis did,” she says. “Who’s that going to be?”