Salehe Bembury Announces SPUNGE, His Independent Footwear Brand

The sneaker veteran stakes out on his own.

Matt Varga October 8, 2025

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There are so many brands that have benefited from Salehe Bembury’s touch over the years: Crocs, Versace, New Balance, PUMA, Anta, Moncler, Vans, Clarks — the list goes on. After helping to elevate the shared product he created with each label, the NYC native is at long last set to bring footwear to the market under his name and his name alone, announcing the launch of his SPUNGE brand.

To wit, Bembury himself lists his expansive résumé within footwear as a learning experience that’s led to this moment, teeing off an opening statement for the occasion:

For 15 years, I’ve worked across every corner of the footwear industry; learning, observing, absorbing. Each chapter taught me something different, how shoes are made, how brands are built, and how culture moves. SPUNGE is the result of it all. Everything I’ve taken in, finally expressed in my own language. This brand exists to create the kind of freedom I was always searching for. A space to explore, experiment, and evolve. A shoe to do stuff in.

Teased consistently over the past months, the SPUNGE Osmosis is the debut silhouette for Bembury’s imprint. The performance focus of the model is on the pocked SQUISH TECH seen at the rear of the shoe. A proprietary foam is encased within the domed TPU cage for energy return and stability. Though the sole unit is the most obvious spot where Salehe’s love for the outdoors appears, it truly does tinge the entire design, including the oversized rubber toe cap and ripstop upper. Finally, we can’t escape the OSMOSIS without imbuing the design with the patented fingerprint pattern, making a subtle appearance etched into the outsole.

Four SPUNGE Osmosis colorways are on tap for this initial offering: the all-around earthy “Yukon,” the neon-tinged “Mung,” the cerulean “Malawi,” and the rosy “Slaw.” The draw for all of these styles is currently open via beaspunge.com (check HERE to get your entries in), retailing at $150 apiece. Raffle winners will be notified on October 13th. Keep our coverage and Salehe Bembury’s socials close for more on the SPUNGE brand as it wades through its first few months, with launch events and wider retail drops set to follow this initial release in the coming weeks.

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Yukon”

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Yukon”

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Yukon”

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Yukon”

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Yukon”

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Yukon”

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Yukon”

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: SPUNGE Osmosis “Mung”

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Mung”

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Mung”

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Mung”

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Mung”

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Mung”

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Mung”

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: SPUNGE Osmosis “Malawi”

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Malawi”

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Malawi”

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Malawi”

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Malawi”

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Malawi”

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Malawi”

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: SPUNGE Osmosis “Slaw”

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Slaw”

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Slaw”

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Slaw”

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Slaw”

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Slaw”

: SPUNGE Osmosis “Slaw”

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Written by

Matt Varga, Junior Editor

Matt Varga is an Editor at SneakerNews. Initially earning a degree in Video Arts and Technology, he got his start in video editing and writing in the music world — primarily on hip-hop and electronic. A long-standing interest in sneakers led him to switching over to footwear. An avid collector, his favorite sneaker of all time comes down to either the Air Jordan 1 “Black Toe” and Air Jordan 5 “Laney,” his first ever pick-ups. When he’s not writing, you can find Matt cooking, traveling, attending concerts and when weather permits, on the handball court.