Chunky/Dad is the trend that keeps on giving, it began to gain real traction last year and doesn’t seem to be leaving us anytime soon. I'd like to say it began with the Ozweego in 2014 but it's Balenciaga’s infamous and ugly Triple S that really made waves. The trend revolves around large, overly complicated footwear and has powered down from the fashionistas and kooky influencers in such a way, it’s now become a focus of major sports footwear brands.
Now I’ve always been vocal on my dislike for high fashion and “fashion” sneakers as a whole; it’s style over substance and I'm a fan of substance. I prefer to have a little more gravitas, performance, history and considered construction in the products that I purchase and wear, which is why I guess I feel somewhat irked that these fashion brands now have taken over the sneaker scene that consumes my daily life. Wearing something just to turn heads with no performance aspect or sports pedigree has never sat well with me. It’s a big debate that I could drone on about for hours so I’m interested to hear your opinions on it.
Now here’s the crux of the article and where I contradict myself, the Puma Spectra - I like it. It’s the most interesting silhouette the company has dropped in recent memory; it's eye-grabbing and punchy and looks great on foot. The Puma branding is almost non-existent, bar a tiny little cat on the tongue tab, the main foam stripe blends into the other panels, owing to a phenomenal colourway execution. The C/W is recognisable - something that I feel is often forgotten about in footwear design; look at the NMD when you see the OG C/W from far away there’s no getting away, you know that shoe and the Spectra has the same effect.
The shoe has a high heel that slopes towards a refined toe area. I’ve worn it a few times now and while it isn’t breaking any records on comfort, it’s not heavy nor clumsy like some of the other pairs that sit alongside it in the chunky category. I mean, compared to say the Triple S it’s rather streamlined (but then I think most things would be!). The material construction is strong with a mixture of leather, fluffy suede, Nubuck and TPU overlays; lacing construction is taken care of with round laces and loops similar to what’s on the Jordan XI. For sizing, I’d suggest going TTS. One of the nicest surprises is the price point, coming in at £110 (€130) you get a lot of bang for your buck and it’s nice to see Puma being friendly on the price point compared with its competitors.
The Thunder Spectra hits retailers in April with more colours coming out later in the year. Finally no Hyperbole, there's been a big demand on this shoe and I know the numbers are small so make sure you put steps in place to secure a pair.
Massive thanks for taking time to read, thanks to Puma for giving me early access to the shoe and it's design specs and big love to Amber for being a wonderful model.
