Puma Speedcat Could Be The Next Samba

According to Alberto Turincio, Head of PR and Social Influence for PUMA’s Sportstyle division, the Speedcat is “one of the best-selling shoes in PUMA’s history.” That said, its reign was largely limited to the early 2000s. Of course, we can’t forget the German sportswear company’s bold attempt at a revival a few years ago to celebrate the silhouette’s 20th anniversary.

For this milestone, the OG PUMA Speedcat silhouette gets a co-branded detail in the form of the Sparco logo on the tongue. In case you didn’t know, Sparco is the Italian racing apparel company that co-created the PUMA Speedcat. Hence, some affectionately call the PUMA Speedcat the “Sparco.”

PUMA Speedcat OG “Black” (left) and PUMA Speedcat OG x Sparco “Black” (right). Images via PUMA.

Unfortunately, the Sparcos still haven’t really caught on with the general public — at least not in the way they did in the early 2000s. And definitely not in the way the adidas Sambas present themselves in today’s sneaker climate. But that could all change with the PUMA Speedcat in 2024.

PUMA, in a brilliant move, is re-releasing the OG Speedcats in their OG colorways: Red and Black. They’ll be dropping on July 13, 2024 at midnight for those in Singapore. Elsewhere, they’ve already been re-released on June 29. Just in case you’re wondering why this is a smart move by PUMA, let us hypothesize.

PUMA Speedcat OG “Black” (left) and PUMA Speedcat OG “Red” (right). Images via PUMA.

The first reason is that the fashion climate is perfect for it. Fashion, like most things in history, moves in patterns and cycles. Right now, the 2000s are all the rage—a period in which Speedcats gained enough popularity to go off the rails and into people’s shoe collections.

Another factor is PUMA’s resurgence as a can’t-miss lifestyle brand. It’s been going on for a while now, but it seems like it’ll culminate in 2024, when big stars will support the brand. Rihanna’s collaboration with PUMA continues, with the release of her FENTY x PUMA Creeper Phatty Pack.

To top it all off, her children’s father, A$AP Rocky, was recently named creative director of PUMA’s F1 line and released an apparel collection to go along with it, as well as an iteration of the PUMA Inhale OG. As if that wasn’t enough, PUMA has also made BLACKPINK’s Rosé their global brand ambassador.

Then, on the more “quiet” side of celebrity endorsement, in the realm of social media influencer marketing, things moved toward Speedcat. The adidas Samba had the likes of Hailey Bieber, Kendall Jenner, and Bella Hadid doing most of the work via unspoken “sponcon.”

With the PUMA Speedcat, American model and actress Emily Ratajkowski — also known as EmRata — did the same. She single-handedly created a media buzz around the PUMA Sparcos by simply wearing them casually around town — albeit repetitively — but it works. The numerous fashion magazine articles are proof of that, as is the social media buzz.

The final and perhaps most poetic reason why the PUMA Sparcos are likely to become the next big thing is the growing interest of the public in motorsports and consequently the fashion surrounding them. What football (or soccer if you’re from America) did to create the Blokecore is also reflected in the arena of the sports world.

Just look at the recent Supreme x Ducati collection to see what we mean, or Drake’s collaboration with L’Art de L’Automobile on the Nike NOCTA project.

Drake wearing a jacket from the Nike NOCTA x L’Art de L’Automobile collection (left) and clothing from the Supreme x Ducati collection (right).

All things considered, these are pretty solid reasons why the PUMA Speedcat could be poised to dethrone the adidas Samba and become the world’s leading silhouette. Or maybe not. Either way, just have fun wearing your chosen shoes, because you have to be happy with them.

If you’re interested in the PUMA Sparcos, take a look at a few of our pairs below!

Here are some PUMA Speedcats on the SNKRDUNK app that you might be interested in:

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Images via PUMA; Getty

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