SUEDE CHAINS
Source: SUEDE CHAINS
There are a ton of us who love sneakers and love Hip-Hop. We all can speak in great detail about discovering Puma while listening to Planet Rock and trying to breakdance like the Rock Steady Crew. Less than a week ago I was building with a peer on LinkedIn and he brought up Lee from Beat Street rocking Puma. We got into a nostalgic discussion on how Puma has always missed out on making a true connection to Hip-Hop. We were also talking about how many footwear companies lack diversity and because of that lack of diversity when they do create a product it often misses the mark.
The colorway above is dope asf. The chain concept while in theory is a good idea, the execution is cheesy asf. I sat for a minute before writing those last two sentences because I was attempting to remain above Trump level pettiness… but there has to be someone in the room making the statement, “If the gold isn’t real when this shit tarnishes it’s going to be a freaking joke.” Someone in the room should have been looking at the long term, but more important someone should have introduced one idea to make this about b-boying: Fat Laces.
The monochrome look of the Chains is perfect, but while the idea is not bad, the chain that is used was not the type of chain synonymous with Hip-Hop. The 80s was all about Kangols and Dookie Rope chains/Truck Jewelry. The link used is aesthetically more Versace than Hip-Hop. Consider that adidas already used the rope chain as a dubrae on the Run DMC/JMJ Superstar 80s. That was a dope homage and immediately recognizable. That shoe also began the resale value of adidas. Unfortunately since adidas used a rope chain, using a chain like that would be biting which is definitely not the way to go when paying homage to Hip-Hop. If I were in the office when this shoe came up I would have suggested gold braiding up the tongue in the middle of the shoe. The lining would have been a lightweight veg-tan lining with a leather footbed. The gold braiding would connect to a veg tan Puma tongue patch and the heel would have been veg-tan. That would have been the premium version of the shoe and it would have been topped off with fat laces with gold tipped aglets.
The shoe isn’t bad. The concept is fantastic, but there isn’t any marketing or imagery associated with it. The worst aspect of this entire launch is the copy:
The Suede and hip-hop have a lot of history – the ‘80s era of b-boys and hip-hop was the Suede’s big break into the
streetwear world. Today, to celebrate the Suede’s 50th anniversary, the Chains Pack appears with pops of gold inspired by hip-hop’s boldest bling.
Bling… really Puma? Bling? The 80s are not associated with Lil Wayne and the Hot Boys anthems of the late 90s to 00s. Puma is at the core of the foundation of Hip-Hop. Kool Herc, Zulu Nation, Rock Steady, Wild Style there is so much rich history that Puma had at its disposal. Instead of digging just a bit deeper and launching a digital EP curated by Grandmaster Caz or Melle Mel (I’d actually like a Marley Marl curated EP, but he’s mid to late 80s), these dudes used a link and the word bling.
Damn Puma.