crooked tongues magazine News Features

When PUMA dig in that substantial archive of theirs, riddled with some basketball, running, tennis and training that easily holds its own against another German brand, it pays dividends. We still think that they're a brand that's barely scratched the surface at heritage level, but with the Shadow Society project evolving to be more than a bunch of (excellent) States, it offers the perfect space for their shoeminati to bring back some brilliant designs with a clarity and elegance that sums up the late 1970s and early 1980s. For years, the PUMA Blue Star and Red Star have cropped up during deadstock excavations in some European spots (remember that digging thing people used to do, before the midnight finger-on-the-mouse button superseded it entirely?) in gum soled and white soled forms, harking back to a glorious time when a different colour could justify a different name (like the adidas Green Star and Tournament, or PUMA's Bluebird and Firebird). The T panel on the toe is a nice touch and we'd long assumed this training design was a PUMA response to the Gazelle. That doesn't diminish the power of this design though — while the days of running into German-made editions in faded green and white boxes are seemingly gone, these do them justice, with a proud looking formstripe, the gum and a quality suede on that upper. The simplicity of basic training means you can't go too wild on a shoe like this — thankfully we seem to be done with the days when models got the dreaded bike theme and the detailing here is confined to the effectively blank white tongue (the art of detailing without detailing) and the Dassler 'D' in the classic gold script. If you need any more convincing, these Blue and Red Stars also come with a nice bag too. If you're interested, go harass a PUMA list retailer this coming Saturday...