PUMA TSUGI Shinsei

PUMA has a track record when it comes to bringing new footwear fastening systems to the fore – you only need to look at the Disc Blaze for proof of that. Its latest offering is no less bold: introducing the TSUGI Shinsei.

For its new creation, the design team at PUMA looked beyond their Herzogenaurach HQ and conventional sneaker styles to Japan, where they took inspiration from the unorthodox silhouettes more commonly seen there. Asymmetric moccasin-style sneakers have long been a favourite in Japanese streetwear circles – see the cult-like appropriation of Nike’s Air Footscape and the ASICS GEL-Mai. PUMA’s latest design draws on that lineage, combining a side-lacing system that’ll leave you scratching your head with a sock-like upper and a touch of modern-day tech (its flagship IGNITE running sole provides the springs underfoot).

But it’s not just the aesthetic that’s borrowed from the Land of the Rising Sun – tsugi means ‘next’ in Japanese while shinsei means ‘rebirth’. With this shoe, PUMA is sending a clear message: the brand is done with endless reissues and remixes of archive shapes – they’re moving things forward and the TSUGI is their starting point. A damn fine one, too.

So how to style this refreshingly progressive blend of tech and left-field looks? With a similar mix of modern and retro, of course. Keep your tracksuits on the tapered side for a more contemporary approach to sportswear and team with a throwback piece like a 50s-style revere-collar shirt for the perfect era clash.

The TSUGI's deconstructed upper lends itself to going sockless, so matching them up with shorts makes for seamless summer style. Top with a baggy retro raincoat from the ASOS x PUMA SS17 collection for an undefeatable combo of steez and downpour protection. What’s the Japanese for ‘nice kicks, mate’?