The Weeknd’s Puma Sneakers Are Here, and the Pope’s Probably Going to Wear Them
I can’t feel my face… mostly because I keep slapping myself to make sure this is real: The Weeknd has unveiled his first ever signature sneaker — and it’s surprisingly dope.
It’s called the Parallel and was created in collaboration with Puma, for whom the “Starboy” singer (real name: Abel Tesfaye) is a brand ambassador. Speaking with Footwear News, Tesfaye shared his lofty ambitions for the shoe: “To be honest, I just want to see everyone wearing it,” he said. “I want to walk down the street and see kids wearing it and women wearing it. I want to see the pope wearing it. I want to see Barack Obama wearing it. I want to see Elon Musk wearing it.”
Maybe Tesfaye’s onto something: ever since Pope Francis chose to ditch the traditional red loafers, the papal shoe game’s been democratized. Which means there’s a good chance Papa Pancho may just trade in his current orthopedic feet whips for a fresh pair of The Weeknd x Pumas. And why wouldn’t he? The Parallel looks like some sort of super shoe, lab engineered from the DNA of 2017’s hottest kicks: Yeezy Season 4’s crepe boot, Rick Owens’ Geobasket high-top, Fear of God’s Military sneaker. All in one sneaker! It’s like the Golden State Warriors of footwear.
Is the Weeknd about to pull a Kanye West and become a bona fide fashion maven? It’s too early to say. We’re just happy his sneakers look nothing like some less impressive hip-hop forays into footwear that we’ve seen. (Sup, Big Sean?)
