I wouldn't call myself a sports girlie though I did play soccer (football, as they'd say in England) through high school, and I've become a devoted Formula 1 fan as an adult. What I am, without question, is a fashion enthusiast. Especially when it comes to shoes. So when I was exploring textile research options in London, stumbling across a PUMA Archives exhibit at their Oxford Street flagship felt like the universe delivering. Fashion history, archival objects, and Formula 1 all under one roof? I was in.
You don't have to be a sports fan to appreciate what PUMA did here. The exhibit was thoughtfully designed for curious visitors with pull-out information panels offering rich background on PUMA's history and archive, and the space genuinely encouraged exploration rather than just a quick scroll past. The archives and retail teams clearly put real care into this, and it showed.
The highlights, though, were the archival pieces themselves.
A Signed Schumacher
The first piece that stopped me in my tracks: a signed 2005 motorsport shoe from Michael Schumacher. For those unfamiliar, Schumacher is an absolute legend of Formula 1, one of the greatest the sport has ever seen. Seeing a signed artifact from someone of his stature was a thrill not just for me, but for my teens and husband as well. One of those unexpected moments where everyone in the room feels it.
The Alexander McQueen Collaboration: A Work of Art
Then there were the 2014 Puma x Alexander McQueen football boots, and I have to be honest: these stopped me completely.
What looks at first like a "simple" football boot (soccer cleat) reveals itself, on closer inspection, to be an exercise in extraordinary craft. The boots are made from hand-burnished Italian leather in its original, delicious brown: no dye, just the leather in its most honest form. The sole and the boot studs are made from Cordovan rawhide, a high-grade soling leather that is press-cut, hand-finished on a trimming wheel, and then hand-burnished with a warm wax to seal the leather. The warm wax matters here penetrating into the core of the leather itself, drawing out that rich, golden-brown hue you see in the finished piece. The studs appear to be wood, but that color and texture? All leather. All process.
The design pays homage to the most iconic silhouette in PUMA's football archive while honoring one of their most admired fashion collaborations. My conservation brain and my fashion brain were equally delighted.
Sneakers as Fashion
Walking through London, I couldn't help but notice that eye-catching sneakers were everywhere and seamlessly so. Every major name woven naturally into the fashion of the moment, no styling effort required. That's what a great sneaker does. It expresses your personality, gets you noticed, and still fits effortlessly into your everyday wardrobe. PUMA has always understood this balance between sport and style, and the exhibit made that lineage visible.
A Brief History
Puma as we know it was officially founded in 1948, but the story starts much earlier and it's a fascinating one.
Brothers Rudolf and Adolf Dassler founded the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory) in their hometown of Herzogenaurach, Germany. They started in their parents' home in 1919, moving into a better suited facility in 1924, and within just a few years their products gained serious recognition. By the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, the majority of German athletes were competing in Dassler spikes.
Eventually, the brothers had a falling out and went their separate ways. Rudolf moved into another facility, gathered 14 employees, and built his own company. The business was registered in January 1948, operations began June 1, 1948, and four months later the Puma brand was officially born.
From those roots, Puma grew into a brand that has consistently managed to bridge the worlds of sport and fashion and not just in athletic contexts, but in the broader fashion community as well. I think of Puma as a sporty, timeless approach to footwear. This exhibit only confirmed that.
Visit for Yourself
Herzogenaurach, where Puma's main archives are located, is now firmly on my research trip list. But if you can't make it to Germany, Puma's website features archive stories worth exploring. And if you find yourself in London, the flagship on Oxford Street is worth a visit even if you walk past it every day. Sometimes the most interesting finds are hiding in plain sight.
