Puma is jumping on the nostalgia trend with the re-release of their smart RS-Computer shoes, originally released back in 1986, for a limited run only starting tomorrow December 13.
The sports brand were well ahead of their time, their RS-Computer shoes came out in 1986 when computers were just beginning to permeate all aspects of our lives.
The wearable trend died off for a bit but has resurfaced with a vengeance and Puma wants sneaker-heads to know they were one of the firsts to come out with wearable tech.
Puma is reissuing the RS-Computer with the familiar colours and heel hump, but thoroughly modern fitness tracking technology.
The 2018 version of the sneaker uses a three-axis accelerometer to measure calorie burn, distance and step count.
Instead of having to plug in a data cable to sync up to 30 days of the collated data with an Apple II or Commodore 64 — like the 1986 version — the data can be synced via Bluetooth to an Android or iOS app that harkens back to the original 8-bit software.
This will not be a mass-produced smart shoe, Puma is making just 86 pairs of the revived RS-Computer shoes, which will be available worldwide on December 13.
The shoes will be available to purchase through Puma’s website, Kith and certain retail stores in Berlin, London, and Tokyo.
No doubt this rarity will spike the resale value of the shoes, and it’s unlikely that buyers will even use the smart features as wearing the shoes would decrease the value.
Pricing info hasn’t been released.
