The 80’s was a magical time for the footwear industry. Thanks to advances in computer technology we were beginning to see that spill over across all industries but specifically footwear.
In 1986 (Twenty years before Nike +) PUMA released the RS Computer, a pioneering running shoe that combined their R-System cushioning with a microprocessor in the heel for a shoe many touted as the wave of the future; .
Sure, by that time adidas had already released the Micropacer two years earlier (a shoe with a pedometer built into the tongue) but it was not quite as advanced as the PUMA RS Computer and it certainly couldn’t be hooked up to your home PC.
In its earliest stages the RS Computer didn’t look all that great. The microprocessor on the heel looked like a pager ready to tell this prototype where the party was at or some sort of electronic cooler.
but by the time they hit retail were a futuristic looking gem in comparison to shoes of the day
and certainly a revolutionary drop from PUMA. The original RS Computer could not only count your foot strikes but tell you the amount of time run, calories burned, distance run and allow the user to compare that to past date to track progress – or regression-.
Don’t think this advanced shoe though was going to be as easy to use as similar shoes of today. No, if the manual was indicative of anything -it was 43 pages long – you were probably going to really be a die hard runner to pick these up -imagine asking the average footwear buyer to read through 43 pages of instructions to operate their shoes today-.
To celebrate this epic time in PUMA’s history we will see the return of two legendary silhouette’s starting with the RS-100 coupled with a new updated model in the RS-o. First released in 1986, The RS 100 running shoe featured textile and leather upper’s with a padded collar, PUMA R-SYSTEM tech for cushioning and a rubber outsole.
Shortly there after the RS Computer dropped followed by the RS-350 in 1987. Starting Spring-Summer ’18, PUMA will kick off its RS stories of reinvention with the RS-0 model followed by modern retro iterations of the RS-100 and RS-350.
PUMA has also partnered with several brands, individuals, and institutions for special drops that explore themes such as gaming, music, photography and more.
The RS-0 – Pre launch will be April 14 / wider release April 19 at a retail price of $130, the RS 100 April 19 at a retail price of $85 and the RS 350 April 19 at $100