There are few footwear silhouettes that transcend decades, styles, sub-cultures and trends to become icons. These silhouettes are continuously readopted by new crowds doing new things with them. Everyone seems to have a story while in them or about them. One of the strongest players in this world is the PUMA Suede.
The shoe originally released in 1968 under the name the "CRACK", long before "lifestyle" was a category of footwear. The simple shoe was originally used as a podium shoe, one an athlete who won events could wear when receiving their medal...think Tommie Smith at the Olympics. Since then the shoe has made its way through the basketball court, the rocksteady crews, the skateboard community and many more.
Here in Washington D.C., the birthplace of harDCore, you see the Suede all over the current underground music scene, and have for decades. With this specific release of the Suede, PUMA went to one of England's oldest tanneries, Charles F. Stead, to elevate the timeless silhouette.
