"Innovation" gets thrown around a lot when we talk about sportswear. But if there was ever a brand that genuinely, meaningfully and consistently lived up to its definition, it would be PUMA.
Ever since the U.S.’s Jessie Owens strapped on a pair of track and field Gebruder Dassler Running Spikes (the fraternal company that preceded today’s PUMA) and won the 1936 Olympic Gold, PUMA has pushed the boundaries of what running shoes can do and what exactly they’re meant to be.
Central to this is the PUMA Disc: currently the world’s fastest non-lacing system and which this year celebrates 25 years in the business of helping fast men and women run faster.
The Disc was first released in the early '90s as a piece of performance gear for track and field. Its revolutionary structure and system – not to mention the solid performance statistics – meant it was quickly rolled out across all categories of the PUMA brand. After that, there was a short hiatus, in which Disc production was stopped but the lessons learned from its creation were applied to a variety of other running designs. However, it wasn’t until 2012 when PUMA unlocked its footwear archive and collaborated for the first time with New York streetwear maven Ronnie Fieg, releasing the PUMA Disc Blaze OG "Cove" x Ronnie Fieg, that the world was reacquainted with a legend.
Now, with the Disc’s latest evolutionary step, the IGNITE Disc and evoSPEED Disc Spike - released the other week by the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt - we’ve plotted some of the key points to get you reacquainted with one of the sportswear industry’s truly innovative inventions.
For a closer look at the latest iteration of the Disc, view our special report on the launch of the IGNITE Disc and evoSPEED Disc Spike in Jamaica.
We'll have more exclusive Highsnobiety x PUMA content over the coming weeks as we celebrate 25 years of the revolutionary Disc.
