Here at KicksOneTwo we love both Bape and Puma, so when they came together for their recent collaboration, you already know we were stoked. Now that the collaborative pieces have been out for a few days and we’ve had time to properly digest them, we’re giving you our thoughts on the collection as a whole, both the good and the bad. Let’s get right to it..starting off with the good.
Good
As to be expected with any project Bape is involved it, the accessories were on point. The bags and small towels were both killer. The soccer jerseys and warmup jackets/pants were fire as well. You can never really go wrong with all-over Bape camo print, and they applied it tastefully on some of Puma’s most classic garments. Collaborations always seem to work to the best when they play to the strengths of both brands, and that was certainly done well here.
You didn’t think we forgot about the footwear either, did you? Although the black and grey Bape camo Disc Blazes were the best shoe in the pack, all four footwear models were tastefully designed and executed. A win on all fronts.
Bad
All good things must come to an end..and although there were a lot of good things about this collaboration, there were a few misses as well. The shark hoodie, crewneck sweatshirt, and tee were all big misses. Bape produces heavily branded gear as is, and slapping Puma logos on their pre-existing pieces is the dictionary definition of “doing too much”. You don’t need a crewneck with both a Puma logo and an ape head on the front, and you don’t need a shark with a giant Puma logo on it either. Excessive branding can be cool, but it was a miss in this case.
Overall
Overall, we’d give the Bape x Puma collab a solid 6.5 out of 10. Shoes: good. Accessories: good. Apparel: Middling. No brand went too far out of their comfort zone, and that made for an enjoyable but safe collaborative effort.
What do you think of the collection? Did you have a favorite piece? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter, and as always, be sure to follow us on Instagram for all the fire sneaker photos you can handle.
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