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Getting a fresh pair of suede sneakers wet is soul wrenching. Soul destroying, in fact. Whether it’s a singular drop or a bucket-load of rain water, that plush, smooth suede is never getting back to its prime, no matter how much waterproof spray you’ve coated them in.

A regular victim of such a heinous crime is PUMA’s Suede VTG, a sneaker that when fresh looks slick, yet one drop of dampness and they’re basically dead meat.

Luckily this season Japanese label nanamica is righting PUMA’s wrongs by dousing the classic silhouette in a protective coat of GORE-TEX, for a two-piece capsule that’s set to drop at the Japanese brand’s website imminently.

It’s a well-known fact that something is made instantly better with a healthy splash of GORE-TEX, so that it’s taken so long for this to happen is pretty much a crime in itself.

Aesthetically, the new-look Suede VTG is exactly what you’d expect from nanamica. In-keeping with its timeless and neutral design concept, each sneaker adorns monotone looks of “Parisian Night” and “Vintage Khaki” respectively, with subtle co-branding on the tongue and at the rear for good measure.

For PUMA, collaborations aren’t anything new after teaming up with the likes of Butter Goods, AMI, and Liberty, to name a few, already this year.

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Similarly nanamica is no stranger to a link-up, with The North Face Purple Label and MONOCLE having their say on signature brand pieces in recent months.

While at first glance nanamica x PUMA might look like any other Suede VTG aesthetically, functionally it’s leagues above because, as we know, everything is made better with a splash of GORE-TEX.

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