Though adidas' Samba is sittin' pretty atop the sneaker charts, there are some slickly stylish challengers coming for its throne. NOAH may be able to boost the humble PUMA Clyde to unforeseen new heights, for instance, thanks to a handsome trio of suede shoes made in Japan.
adidas is enjoying one of the wildest turns of footwear fortune in the past few years, really, as its classic Samba sneaker (plus the Gazelle and Campus, to some extent) suddenly found a fresh crop of fans among the TikTok set.
The same folks craving Stüssy's Eight-Ball fleece and Birkenstock Bostons suddenly developed a taste for adidas' low-profile footie shoes and, well, they're everywhere.
This isn't unique to adidas, necessarily, as there's been ample demand for, say Reebok's Club C and Nike's Blazer Low, but the Samba is currently king, with co-signs from the likes of Palace, Pharrell, and JJJJOUND.
NOAH probably doesn't care that its downtown New York flagship store is surrounded by hip young folks striding around in low-top shoes, though it's devised its own take on adidas Gazelles in the past.
This PUMA collab has been in the works long in advance, as most sneaker collaborations usually are, it's just that timeless good looks never go out of style (and, yes, JJJJOUND also did some suede PUMAs).
Dropping March 16 at NOAH's website, New York stores, and the Dover Street Market stores in London and Los Angeles, NOAH's three PUMA Clydes are each $190 and all but guaranteed to sell out.
It's a good time to be making these kinds of sleek old-school sneaks, for sure, and NOAH's PUMAs only become additionally tempting once you realize that they're made in Japan, as PUMA is one of the only big sportswear companies in the biz that still produces shoes there.
I supposed New Balance still taps Japanese manufacturers for that ultra-rare 1300 but that's about it.
There's purpose behind NOAH's new MIJ PUMAs that goes beyond the inherent quality and status of a Japanese-made shoe, too.
The MIJ PUMAs have a "slightly less chunky appearance," NOAH says, "as it doesn't have foam material placed between the upper & the lining." The more you know!
This gives the sneaker "a more almond shape in the toe" that's more streamlined than typical PUMA Clydes and hearkens back to the OG shoe, which debuted wayyyy back in 1971. Just another tasteful choice from NOAH: you just don't get that level of thoughtfulness from anyone else.
