Aaron Kr. 
At this time last year, Reebok was celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Pump by collaborating with 20 different retailers/brands to design their own version of the iconic shoe. Between the combination of a great concept/execution and some star power, the Dominique Wilkins inspired version by Packer Shoes is easily one of the most memorable installments of the Pump20 collection. For Packer, the chance to design their own shoe provided plenty of fun and excitement, but to get it just right takes some time and work. Here we get a look at two early samples of the shoe that were eventually altered and tweaked to create the version that released last November. Of the two pairs you see here, one is pretty close to the finished version with the exception of a different outsole, but the other pair really sports some notable differences.
The most glaring change was obviously made to the midsole. As you can see, the early sample featured a white midsole covered by some multi-colored speckling, giving the shoe a very different look in terms of color-blocking. Some of the other changes are a little more subtle, like the grey mesh panels instead of white and no perforations on the tongue. The Packer label that was eventually stitched inside the tongue label is printed on the inner ankle collar and the Dominique silhouette that made it onto t-shirts for the release was originally embroidered on the heel, later to be replaced by Nique’s ’85 and ’90 Slam Dunk Contest title years. Keep reading after the jump for some more pics of the samples and stay tuned for more Packer Shoes x Reebok team-ups in the near future.
