You’d have to have been living under a rock this year to have missed the process of reinvention PUMA’s been undergoing with its line of reimagined Running System (RS) sneakers. The leaping cat brand relaunched its ‘80s RS technology earlier this year with the RS-0 series and has since dropped a steady flow of fresh colorways and collabs. Now, the brand is taking the “retro future” theme one step further and launching the RS-X range, debuted by the aptly named RS-X Reinvention.
As with the RS-0, the RS-X is yet another solid example of how the German giant is skillfully paying homage to its archive and in doing so, progressing and elevating its current sneaker offering. Purposefully tapping into our nostalgic yearnings, the new silhouette is at once retro and bang on trend with its bulky design, chunky sole, and patchwork-like upper.
The first drop in the range, the RS-X Reinvention, strips the brand’s RS cushioning technology back to its essentials and rebuilds it into a modern midsole. Continuing the interplay of past and future, its upper mixes classic leather and suedes with modern meshes and textiles, and the color palette pays tribute to the past by using hues lifted directly from iconic pieces in the brand’s archive.
Over the coming months, the brand is set to release a number of collaborations with some unexpected partners from the toy, television, telecommunication, and motoring worlds. Confirmed so far is a duo colorway “Transformers Pack” with Hasbro as well as co-branded Hot Wheels drop with toymaker Mattel to commemorate the toy car’s 50th anniversary. Also in the works is a reinvention-inspired pack with telecom giant Motorola.
To celebrate the launch of the new range and the RS-X Reinvention, our New York team shot the sneakers on songstress Oyinda, model-cum-rapper-cum-actor Judah Lang, and model and producer Gitoo Thoo. Like the RS series, these three are no strangers to reinvention and, whether through music, modeling, or producing, use their creative endeavors to tap into different sides of their personalities and explore new versions of themselves.
Cop them now via puma.com and leading sneaker retailers worldwide.
