Black Forest Kicks? The German tourist destination getting its own sneaker collection

This marks the first time a German tourist destination has been honoured with a sneaker collection, with each of the three shoes in the series being inspired by a Black Forest icon.  

The first release, the ‘Kuckuck’, pays homage to the cuckoo clock. Now popular worldwide, the cuckoo clock arrived in the region in the early seventeenth century, via local traders returning from the Czech region of Bohemia. Soon, manufacturers and workshops sprung up throughout the Black Forest, making use of the plentiful, high-quality wood and the local craftsman’s carving talent. Today, they’re an unavoidable part of any visit, found at any tourist destination. 

Available directly from Black Forest Tourism, as well as selected outlets throughout the DACH region from August 12, the ‘Kukuk’ is based on the PUMA Slipstream Lo. The styling of the ‘Kukuk’ features colouring and leatherwork in the style of a cuckoo clock, as well as pendants reminiscent of their trademark pinecone movement.  

As Hansjörg Mair, Head of Black Forest Tourism states: "The Black Forest cuckoo clock is a regional product with worldwide popularity, which makes it ideal as a theme.

“It stands not only for the love of one's homeland, tradition and craftsmanship but also for creativity and inventiveness, which are reflected in many aspects of the Black Forest.”

The Black Forest has been attracting visitors for centuries. Photo: Schwarzwald Tourismus / Michael Sauer/ STG

While the remaining two shoes in the series are yet to be unveiled, the world-famous Black Forest cake and the traditional ‘Bollenhut’ worn by women, are potential themes. 

Stretching 160 kilometres from north to south through the German state of Baden-Wurttemberg, with a width of up to 60 kilometres, the Black Forest has been attracting visitors for hundreds of years. Not only a source of wood and precious metals, but the deep valleys and rolling hills of the area also offered mineral springs that became popular health resorts. 

Over the twentieth century, the Black Forest gained international fame and was memorialised in film, song and literature. Today, hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world arrive to enjoy what it has to offer. 

Anna Egger, Head of Marketing Central Europe for PUMA, emphasised the region’s recreational credentials at the announcement: "The cooperation between us as a traditional sportswear company and the Black Forest as a vacation region with so many icons just fits.

“We are therefore delighted, in the year of our 75th anniversary, to be able to present the Black Forest in selected sneaker boutiques.”