Puma Suede Classic '75th Anniversary - Black'
Colorway: Black/Black · Style code: 393325-01 · Release date: January 30, 2023 · Price: $2602 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Puma Suede Classic '75th Anniversary - Feather Grey' (393325-02) · Puma Suede Classic '75th Anniversary - Red' (393325-03) · Puma Suede Classic '75th Anniversary - Archive Green' (393325-04)
Rudolf Dassler founded Puma in 1948, which made 2023 the company's 75th year, and the Suede Classic was one of the models chosen to mark the date. This pair takes the anniversary in the most restrained direction available: black suede over the full upper, a black Formstrip cut from the same material, black laces and a black sole unit. It came out on January 30, 2023 at 80 dollars, alongside a second anniversary pair done in Archive Green.
Tonal black is the version of this shoe that disappears into an outfit, which is a real use case for a model that usually does the opposite. Nothing about the palette dates it, nothing on it needs matching, and the dark nap hides the scuffing that light suede advertises. The trade is that the shape gets harder to read: this profile depends on the Formstrip sweeping up from the sole toward the lace panel, and in a single colour you only catch it in raking light. For a 75th birthday pair, that restraint is the argument. Puma let the year do the talking and left the shoe alone.