Retro Runner Rehab: The PUMA Prevail
Meet the PUMA Prevail. Very few know of this punchy 90s silhouette from the big cat, and that’s a wrong we’re here to right. The Prevail is like a stealth bomber in the annals of sneaker history. Not for its shape (in that respect it’s more like a tank) but simply because it flew under the radar. For that reason alone it isn’t the likeliest candidate for reissue. But the Prevail is one of PUMA’s finest, and we’re hopeful that 2016 is its year to shine.
The Prevail mightn’t have been blessed with Disc tech, but it did get the looks. To most sneakerheads the 90s are the foundation of their taste. The era informs a lot of what we add to cart today, and luckily for the Prevail it has 90s novelty in spades. Burly bordering on rotund, the bridge of this retro runner harks back to a time when footwear wasn’t dainty. Prevails aren’t best worn under a pin-rolled chino like a sneaker sock. Rather they’re more comfortable under a straight leg of denim or baggy shorts.
The Prevail’s layering would make it a colourists dream in 2016. A mixture of jagged and curved panels give three-way colour schemes like this ‘White/Purple/Black’ more impact than no-sew layers ever could. Also note the tongue and side panel – colour blocking both makes it look like one weaves under the heel collar and into the other. Imagine if Ronnie Fieg did a version of these, punters would be camping for that beauty like Spartans outside Troy.