This is a polarising piece of footwear. For some, the Pump's opening salvo in the next level of technology wars, upping the stakes after years of emphasis on shock absorption into new realms of tactile custom fit, was the straw that broke the camel's back, sending things stratospheric, but forgetting that simple design has longevity. For some, it was, with its considerable bulk, immense price tag for anyone fortunate/spoiled enough to grab a pair around November 24th 1989 (perfect for being able to shout "FIRST!" at Nike, whose Pressure hadn't dropped yet, seemingly despite their salesman sample being shown first) at a whopping £130, something of a status symbol. Raised as we staffers were in that transitional, bigger-is-better realm of shoedom, we look at the Bringback aka. The Pump (and as we recall, going on promo materials from 1990, it carried the Pump Basketball name too) with a lot of fondness. Like Death Star playsets or the Mattel Powerglove, it maintained a certain lore for a generation for whom the mere notion of owning such an item and the neighbourhood fame it would earn was the stuff of fantasy. Those deriding them as moonboots missed the point. Dominique Wilkins knew what time it was.

Whereas that expensive Nintendo controller turned out to be unresponsive junk, and the Imperial headquarters were, in reality's icy glare, mostly card, this shoe has held up well. Not just because the giant shoe movement is in full effect, but because it's an interesting and pretty pivotal moment in sneaker design that still elicits reactions and frequent flashbacks from those who lusted after a pair too. We never thought this model would attain the status of design classic, but we'd happily argue that, as the defiantly futurist polar opposite to Reebok's beautiful brace of simple nylon and suede runners (many of which are still in desperate need of a re-release) it's a legendary shoe. Pump technology evolved a lot since The Pump dropped, even within six months of release - the heel valve, fun as it was, was fine in the days of tight stonewash (we're aware from wanderings around east London, that the look is cyclical) is difficult to conceal, though it beat the overtly fussy dual chamber 'switch' on some later variations, but that chunky shape is great, like some madcap expansion of the original Alien Fighter/Stomper film prop, with added Energy Return.

When this shoe returned circa. 2004 in grey and blue, as part of a Pump rollout, with the Bringback name, we respected the build quality - for all the dual gimmickry, this shoe always felt well-made, and the retro was a pretty fine recreation. The downside was that we weren't in a world so hi-top happy at that point, and that the shoe"s fifteenth anniversary didn't carry the same resonance as the twentieth anniversary that occurs next month. Nor was there a strong campaign behind it. From hard to obtain origins, seeing this shoe languishing on TK Maxx shelves was like seeing a beached Beluga whale. It just wasn't right. This time however, with a collection of great retailer makeups from the likes of Solebox, Patta and Bodega, in limited numbers that will minimise chances of salerack, and with all seemingly respecting the principles of a clean, clever colour and material palette. But we can't give away any more, in case goons run us off the road for breaching what's shaping up to be one of the finest campaigns of the year.

We openly wept when we weren't selected as Pump20 partners. They even got fancy jackets. But while we occasionally slip into black moods and have to pop a few Lithium to get through the day, in the knowledge that we wanted to create something that could have sat alongside the O.G. colours on its release, we won't hate. Instead, we'll congratulate all involved for prepping some wintertime bangers. These retros of the black and whites are fantastic - blacks are the most timeless variation of what's essentially a very fussy shoe.The leathers feel just right, that Pump isn't one of those placebo salesman sample dummy ones, and you can happily unleash that satisfying hissssss at will. The downside, is that we're not entirely sure how retail will go down on these beauties - there's a friends and fam label on the back of that iconic tongue, but we've heard talk of them going on sale in the involved Pump partner retailers in low, low numbers this November. If you're a fiend for this shoe, you won't be disappointed, and it looks like Reebok just got it very, very right in a year when some other big name campaigns fell short of greatness.