Friends of ours, Puma and size? have come together to collaborate on a family of shoes based on the iconic mafioso movie, The Godfather. It’s a timely homage as the Francis Ford Coppola classic turns 50 this year. And Puma couldn’t have a more fitting archive silhouette to draw upon than the 1970s Palermo.
The capsule consists of three colourways, each inspired by a classic scene from the film, and all three feature an iconic quote hidden beneath the Palermo’s trademark eyelet flap.
‘The Wedding’ comes in a rich Olive Green reminiscent of the lush garden setting of Connie and Carlo’s wedding, and the gold foil quote reads, ‘We go to the mattresses’.
‘The Bar’ comes in a muted beige taken from the walls of Bar Vitelli where Michael encounters Apollina’s father, and the formstrip is the same hot red as the bar’s sign. The hidden quote reads, ‘Take the gun, leave the cannoli,’ as famously uttered by Clemenza to his partner, Rocco.
Finally, the most vibrant shoe in the collection is ‘The Restaurant’ which comes in the striking neon hues of the sign in the window of Louis Italian-American Restaurant, where perhaps the film’s most famous scene takes place. The sequence is a masterpiece in building cinematic tension and culminates in Michael shooting both Sollozzo and McCluskey. The quote on this shoe reads menacingly, ‘It’s not personal, it’s strictly business’.
The shoes themselves are made from the sort of premium materials that would be demanded by the most well turned out of wiseguys. Supple suede, nylon and tumbled leather are complimented by a retro gum sole.
We were asked to shoot the shoes (an offer we couldn’t refuse) and so decided to create our own interpretations of the scenes on which each trainer is based. Where we’re from, putting shoes on the table is seen as bad luck and a harbinger of death. Given the fate that befalls many of the characters in The Godfather, it somehow seemed appropriate. You can see our shoot here and become a made man (or woman) by grabbing yourself a pair from size? from tomorrow.
