How Puma Clyde trainers came to be is a story in which sporting performance and fashion collided head on – with spectacular results.

“The subtle suede Puma Clyde is another classic shoe with origins modern wearers might have missed,” said US website mental_floss, and this may be particularly true of British trainer fans.

Basketball – and one player in particular – is the reason why Clyde came to be, as the shoe was designed by Puma in collaboration with Walt Frazier.

The famously fashionable player – nicknamed Clyde, as his dress sense was viewed as similar to that of bank robber Clyde Barrow – wanted trainers that had a wider toe.

He approached Puma, who agreed to make the trainers, and the Clyde was born.

That historic event took place in the 1970s, but Puma is a brand that has a heritage stretching back to 1924.

While Puma was established in 1948, founder Rudolf Dassler had been working with his brother Adi on Dassler shoes from 1924.

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