Matt Varga As seen with their recent Mary Jane reinventions, PUMA doesn’t particularly need any help to get experimental. However, linking up with high-fashion brands is always a reliable formula to bring new life into the catalog, and by joining hands with Paris-based sustainability label Rombaut, they’re taking one of their most significant steps yet.
Much of what makes the PUMA Rombaut Levitation so attention-grabbing is visible at first glance, with a cage-like sole unit “floating” outside the silhouette as it juts beyond the heel. A lace-less, relatively seamless leather upper sits within that structure, furthering the overall futuristic design language on display. As a final flourish, the herringbone traction spreads onto the Formstrip that branches across the shoe.
However, its biggest claim to fame requires some (literal) unloading: that upper decouples from the heel in order to be worn with simply just the heel, presented in these shots alongside the branded Rombaut Levitation sock.
Aligning with Rombaut and founder Mat Rombaut’s mission statement to develop fashion “solutions from an environmental angle,” all of the materials here are 100% vegan, comprised chiefly of man-made leather and recycled synthetics. The PUMA Rombaut Levitation collection is queued up for a March 1st release date, arriving via Rombaut.com, PUMA channels, and partnering stockists. Retail pricing for the shoe hasn’t been announced just yet, but the Sock has gone up early on the Rombaut site, carrying a $384 sticker price.
