I still remember when a collaboration was the exception and not the rule. When we first started Highsnobiety, the collaboration game was already in full swing, and you’d have an especially good one every month that got plenty of people excited. Of course, as with anything, the more it’s done, the less interesting it becomes.
Recently I saw the Undefeated x Puma Polka Dot Pack in a store and it got me thinking about the current state of collaborations.
We have always been big fans of Undefeated and love what they do with their stores and the brand – it all just seems to make sense for the most part and the Undefeated sneaker collaborations have always been among the very best over the years. These days they’re working with Converse on new sneakers every couple of months and, of course, they’ve also entered into an extended partnership with Puma around the iconic Clyde.
Puma has not had the strongest run in recent years, but the Clyde was always well regarded in footwear circles, so a big team-up with Undefeated to resurrect the shoe seemed to make perfect sense.
When the first sneaker from that collection launched, an all leather Clyde sans Puma Form Stripe, I actually thought they might be on to something. It was very simple, but the quality material update, improved in-sole and color choices really made these easy to wear – an everyday sneaker that went with anything and worked for any occasion. Well played.
At this point we’ve seen five packs from this collaboration: leather, canvas, ripstop nylon, colorblock and polka dots. What we haven’t seen is a lot of excitement from sneaker fans and we certainly haven’t seen them on anybodies feet.
Perhaps Undefeated has kept things a little too simple? Or is it an issue with the Clyde shoe itself?
Read the rest of the article after the jump.
