The Soho kings of vintage meet the 90s reissue.
Dukes Cupboard, founded by Milo Harley and Ned Membery, has become a Soho landmark. Initially starting out on a market stall on Berwick Street, the two friends always had bigger ambitions for their vintage empire and wasted little time in making them a reality. Dukes Cupboard now calls a permanent bricks and mortar store on Greens Court, home. No small feat for anyone who knows how much it costs to open a store in one of the most expensive and competitive places in London to do so.
What has made Dukes so successful, apart from Milo and Ned’s drive and determination to make it so, has been the resurgence of the 90’s inspired vintage market. The 90’s are inescapable at the moment – the era is driving aesthetics across the board, from personal fashion choices through to mediums on which content is created – and Dukes has played a pivotal role in shaping this resurgence, especially in Soho.
Ned and Milo haven’t ridden the wave, they have helped create it. They pay meticulous attention to their buying, travelling as far as Los Angeles to ensure they have what their London based customers are interested in purchasing. As well, and equally crucially, they have become an important part of the Soho ecosystem and community, forging connections all over the local area that make sure that the vintage scene in Soho is alive and well, and here to stay.
With that in mind, when Puma asked us to take their new Puma Cell Venom’s for a spin in Soho, there was no one else we wanted to give them to other than Milo and Ned. With the Puma Cell franchise being birthed in the 90s, and the reissue staying true to the essence of the shoe, it was a no brainer to give them to the kings of the 90s resurgence in Soho to style themselves and see what they made of them.
They were both pleased, as were we, with how good they looked on foot and how comfortable they were, which can’t be said for all trainers even though they should be comfortable as a default. It left us all intrigued by what more there is to come from the Puma Cell franchise in the future – what other models they have in the back catalogue for reissue, and how they reinterpret the 90s technology in the context of new silhouettes.
Photos by Cosmo Webber.
