PUMA x HB ‘Har Gao’ Blaze of Glory LTWT

• MODEL: PUMA BLAZE OF GLORY
• PACK: PUMA X HYPEBEAST "DIM SUM" PROJECT
• TYPE: RUNNING
• DESIGNED BY: Hypebeast
• MADE IN: CHINA
• MADE ON: 01/13
• ART.NO: 354321 01

When a shoe makes you hungry that’s a normal thing, but when the pair is actually based on a meal or dish, well it’s worth a second serving.

It seems that the days of only labels, designers, and boutiques collaborating with major brands on new sneaker releases are truly behind us. Not that they’re the first (for example Sneaker Freaker has been dropping collab shoes for years now) but it’s definitely a sign of the times when Hypebeast comes out swinging heavy-handed with these lightweight PUMA peaches.

The “Dim Sum” Project. Featuring the German cat company’s gorgeous and also quite peculiar Blaze of Glory silhouette, adapted in a few ways to bless the release with some extra flavor. First and foremost the theme leads itself to cuisine-inspired colorways, two to be precise, a Siu Mai pork dumpling Blaze OG and the Har Gow (or Har Gao, as they’ve selected for the model nickname) shrimp dumpling Blaze LTWT (meaning lightweight) pictured here.

This latter shoe might be the more interesting for some as it’s blessed with a hybrid sole unit stolen from the PUMA FAAS 250 and it’s dressed in what Hypebeast is calling a ‘unique translucent material’. I’d go for the term ‘membrane’ myself, but when mixed with meals that doesn’t really ring off as such an appetizing texture.

And as of late PUMA’s been coming with some fancy extras (see the Solebox x PUMA States 10th Anniversary Pack for a great example) so it’s no surprise – though it is a pleasant treat – that Hypebeast opted for the accompanying tatami place mat and branded chopsticks packed in a matching case to fully complete your meal.

With a special Hypebeast-only, early-bird release on the 10th of May, the rest of the pairs are pushed out of the boiling pot in selected boutiques (such as Solebox) on Friday the 17th. If you dig what you see then get in line because chances are the hype around these dumplings is gonna give you indigestion.

written by Dylan Cromwell

photography by errol