PUMA Madrid

• MODEL: PUMA MADRID
• MADE IN: WEST GERMANY

As the capitol of Spain, it’s no wonder Madrid was blessed with its own shoe as part of PUMA’s vintage City Series, but whether or not the silhouette holds up to the town is another tale.

The blue and white shield of Madrid displays an illustrated bear standing upon its hind legs, reaching high into a solitary tree, for the best pick of its fruit offerings. Beyond the commonly shared colors I can’t help but align the bear’s ‘cherry-picking’ to that of the also common collector action: spending hours and hours searching for that perfect ‘pick’.

And the question lying before us today, is of course, not only what history precedes these vintage PUMA Madrid’s, but also whether or not they fall under the rare category of a nice, juicy, ripe find. Or are they a bruised and battered fruit, better left for the flies of second hand shops and flea market folk.

To begin critically, an awkward display of side stitching slices through the center of the formstripe and looks quite honestly like a factory mistake. But opinions and speculation aside, both the extra toe reinforcement layer (which uniquely stretches all the way back to the formstripe) and the incredibly solid gum sole unit provide a very durable shoe. The last itself is quite wide, more comparable to a Clyde than a Suede, and the extra padding on the inner area of the sockliner is built with a spongy foam material giving them a decent amount of extra comfort.

With close to no traction this is obviously a casual pair by all means, and certainly they’ve the chance to fit under the guise of sought after shoes considering their place in the vintage City Series. However, beyond those facts, you don’t actually tend to hear so much chatter about the PUMA Madrid, and it’s likely become a silhouette that only the most acute of connoisseurs concern themselves with.

written by Dylan Cromwell

photography by errol