For many of us, weekends during the winter months are spent on the terraces of football grounds up and down the country. But come summertime, when the season is over, people look to head off to warmer climes to spend time on terraces of a different kind. Whether it’s to bask in the season’s successes, wallow in failure, or ruefully reflect on another year of mid-table mediocrity, the drama is over and it’s time to relax. And the destination of choice for this debrief is often the southern areas of Europe surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.
That’s usually the plan, anyway. Thanks to this bloody pandemic though, for a while, plans were just about the only thing going south. When we were devising a shoot for the Puma Delphin, our second for their classic Terrace range after the Mallorca, we thought that a colourful and rustic Italian village would offer the perfect backdrop. Especially given the warm, earthy hues of the silhouettes, but also acting as a perfect counterpoint to the frenetic matchday energy of the first Mallorca shoot. Trouble was, travel restrictions earlier in the year meant we weren’t able to go anywhere outside the UK. So, like many people looking for a little break from lockdown monotony, we had to settle for Wales.
I say ‘settle’ in jest, of course. Wales is a wonderful place. And in the picturesque Italian-style village of Portmeirion, it had exactly what we needed. Colourful buildings, winding cobbled alleyways, clear blue water, and luckily, sunshine.
The Delphin silhouette was first introduced in the 1970s and would quickly become a common sight treading the piazzas of Europe as British football fans brought back the sportswear styles of the continent to wear on the terraces of the UK. The return of the shoe for this season sees some new warm colourways while retaining a clean, minimal design. The svelte suede of the upper is matched with a smooth leather formstrip, and a gum Puma Contact sole unit offers plush comfort, whatever kind of terrace you’re traversing.
