PUMA Suede

• MODEL: PUMA SUEDE
• TYPE: BASKETBALL
• MADE IN: CHINA
• MADE ON: 10/06
• ART.NO: 181649 16
• FACTORY: CDT

Suede after Suede, there’s no doubt in our minds that PUMA’s number one icon of street style is also its most re-released silhouette.

But who’s to say it even matters? My girlfriend looked down at my shoes just earlier today and asked “how many pairs of those do you own?” and of course my answer required the use of more than one finger. For a lot of us, when we like a model, we buy it. But when we love a model, well, we buy up almost every colorway we can, almost in obsessive tribute of design itself.

How many ‘heads out there can admit that they’ve bought colorways of their favorite model(s) even when the particular hues or patterns weren’t exactly their cup of tea? I would assume the group of guilty guys and gals is larger than one might think. Buying up and collecting shoes is quite a love affair and one can act impulsively, sure, but one can also simply have a vast appreciation for the said model or its family.

And when it comes to Suede-lovin’ there’s certainly no shortage. The wide variety of colorways, collaborations, and creative patterns applied to the upper and sole units are simply outstanding, even staggering. Such same creativity that goes into the rainbow of colors is also sprinkled into the names of the shades even. For example, the pair pictured here throws what PUMA’s calling an “amazon” green formstripe (and details) upon a “limestone” gray body. I, for one, must admit I love the tricky, funky, sometimes even goofy color names (such as the hilariously named “cinder” brown and “orange.com” Suedes from 2004) almost as much as I like the shoes themselves. It’s part of the packaging, like the box or the semi-fat, flat laces they come with. The whole image is bettered by this extra detail.

This aspect is PUMA in and of itself; the finer details. Quite honestly the brand has always had the knack for failing miserably when it comes to trying to do things the loud way. That’s just not the spirit of a puma and when they apply their delicate, swift, yet strong touch they end up being ten times more effective than if they try to roar and shake like the mane of a lion. Leave that to loud-boy brands and stay true to your form, PUMA, and you’ll likely keep a healthy fan-base for many years to come. Do that, and, of course, don’t forget to drop another few Suede colorways from time to time.

written by Dylan Cromwell

photography by errol

shoes contributed by Ollie Teeba