PUMA Fire Bird

• MODEL: PUMA FIRE BIRD
• MADE IN: YUGOSLAVIA

When talking about vintage heat from the big German cat, there’s no way to leave out the superbly colored PUMA Fire Bird. Released in two colorways – red and light blue, as well as the red and dark blue pictured here – and in sizes big enough for men but also small enough for ladies and children, the Fire Bird was an all around casual wear shoe.

As the name implies the main feature of the trainer is a soft red suede upper that goes against a lot of the typical shoe design ideas of the 1970′s, 80′s, and even early 90′s. It’s hard to truly say what someone would be braver to do: making these shoes or buy ‘em and wear ‘em!

There was also another, almost identical silhouette dropped, known as the PUMA Stenzel Firebird, produced in the same two colorways. This alternate version was named after Vlado Stenzel, a Yugoslavian handball trainer, who trained the Yugoslavian team that went on to win the Olympic gold medal in 1972, as well as the German team that won the World Championship in 1978. To honor his athletic work, PUMA put out a whole sport range for Stenzel, including track tops and trainers.

The dark blue and red colorway pictured here was manufactured in Yugoslavia (while the lighter blue version mentioned above was made in Italy) and one of it’s coolest details is the lighter blue stitching used on the side stripes. The contrast between the two shades of blue gives the stripes a popping effect that looks even more daring against the red upper. An incredibly beautiful and comfortable shoe, it’s a pity that PUMA never put this one out again on the market… or at least not yet.

However, those that like the model’s shape, build, and colorways can relish in the fact that PUMA has put out some more modern re-releases of their Blue Bird silhouette, which looks very similar to the Fire Bird, and even one in the red and light blue version.

written by Dylan Cromwell

photography by errol

shoes contributed by Fritze