Paris Fashion Week was packed with glamorous runway shows, immersive presentations, and plenty of unexpected drops, but few had an impactful experience quite like Bronx-born creative Jae Tips, thanks to the release of his third Saucony collaboration, the ProGrid Omni 9. "I've loved shoes my entire life,” he says. “Having young parents, the way they show you love is by giving you the newest Jordans. So, I fell in love with shoes when I was five years old, and have spent my entire life trying to surround myself with shoes, whether it was working at sneaker shops, trying to resell shoes, or going to trade shows."

While shoes were his first love, Tips made a name for himself during the explosion in popularity of “custom” fitted hats towards the end of the last decade thanks to his work with Hat Club. Tips carried his success over to Savior Worldwide – his eponymous label defined by inflated prints and eye-catching hues. Footwear is his next step, as he’s been working with Saucony since 2023. "I met with Saucony several years ago through a video call. They said they wanted to create something with me, and we picked each other's brains. I had a bunch of design stuff that I showed them, and they were interested, so they were like, if you want to do something, let's do something."

His debut rework of Saucony's Grid Azura 2000 was a smash hit, dropping last summer ahead of his sophomore Grid Shadow 2 pack. Tips' latest arrival encapsulates his smiling demeanor – clad in spirited purple, red, and blue tones. "I like to give you something that is a breath of fresh air. I think a lot of people dress in different tones and different moods. I don't think anybody wears my stuff and doesn't want to have a great day," he says. "The shoe is going to equip you to have a good day and for you to run some errands. Many of us who consume stuff, we buy, buy, buy, but sometimes you don't always have the right reason to put something on. If you have a lot to do today, you've got to put my shoes on."

Jae Tips wants to change the game for good, blessing fans with sneaker collaborations that embrace widespread availability. "I want to be able to inspire more people. Meeting people and being able to attend pop-ups and installs and create bigger launch moments really makes people proud because they look at themselves through me. If I can continue to touch all these different milestones and do things that champion people like me, then that's all I can ask for."

What can we expect from Saucony and Jae Tips in the future? "More innovation, innovative ideas, not holding back, and challenging consumers to think outside the box. Designers tend to mirror the past – I'm just trying to tell my story through unique colors and deliver things you may have never seen before.”

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