One of 2024’s Hottest Sneaker Collabs Comes From an Unlikely Source
StyleSaucony and Jae Tips have cooked up another color-splashed heater.By Tres DeanDecember 4, 2024Photograph: Saucony; Collage: Gabe ConteSave this storySaveSave this storySaveAll products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.Who said the Stripes and the Swoosh get to have all the fun? One of 2024’s buzziest sneaker collabs hasn’t featured either of the biggest brands in the game. Instead it’s Saucony and their work with New York creative Jae Tips that left one of the biggest impressions of the year.To be clear, Saucony is no scrappy upstart. The brand is one of the oldest in the sneaker game, with their origins dating back to 1898. Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, they’ve made their bones with classic trainers and performance runners. Over the years, the brand has waved in and out of the sneaker world spotlight, though they’ve rarely been as close to its center as they’ve been since launching their partnership with Jae Tips, a multidisciplinary creative in the streetwear space. Hailing from the Bronx, the designer and rapper is perhaps best known for his work with Hat Club, though he also runs his own apparel line called Savior Worldwide. After 2024 though, he may have cemented his status as one of the hottest designers in the sneaker world.May saw the debut of Jae Tips’ partnership with Saucony, the collaboration focusing on the brand’s Grid Azura 2000 silhouette. First appearing at last year’s ComplexCon, the shoe made a statement with a hodgepodge of colors, patterns, and fabrics. It looks like—and I swear, somehow this is a compliment—Tips threw 23 different sneaker colorways in a blender and somehow ended up with Dr. Pepper, so to speak. Saucony hadn’t had this many eyes on it in ages, if ever, and the collaboration soon chugged along with two colorways of the ProGrid Omni 9. This week, the two close out a strong year in style.December 6 will see the release of the Jae Tips x Saucony Matrix, yanking the running silhouette out of the brand’s archive for the first time since 2000. Like the prior colorways, the shoe utilizes bold colorblocking and contrasting textiles for a shoe that does anything but blend in. The Matrix’s upper is composed of a combination of maroon wool and light brown nubuck leather, set off by a patterned silver swoop running up the middle of the wool. It’s contrasted with a lavender and green sole (once again, somehow this works) and teal tongues bearing the Saucony and Savior Worldwide logos.There’s no telling where Jae Tips and Saucony will go in 2025, but wherever it is, suffice to say they won’t be going there quietly. The Jae Tips x Saucony Matrix launches this Friday, December 6 on saucony.com for $170.
All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Who said the Stripes and the Swoosh get to have all the fun? One of 2024’s buzziest sneaker collabs hasn’t featured either of the biggest brands in the game. Instead it’s Saucony and their work with New York creative Jae Tips that left one of the biggest impressions of the year.
To be clear, Saucony is no scrappy upstart. The brand is one of the oldest in the sneaker game, with their origins dating back to 1898. Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, they’ve made their bones with classic trainers and performance runners. Over the years, the brand has waved in and out of the sneaker world spotlight, though they’ve rarely been as close to its center as they’ve been since launching their partnership with Jae Tips, a multidisciplinary creative in the streetwear space. Hailing from the Bronx, the designer and rapper is perhaps best known for his work with Hat Club, though he also runs his own apparel line called Savior Worldwide. After 2024 though, he may have cemented his status as one of the hottest designers in the sneaker world.
May saw the debut of Jae Tips’ partnership with Saucony, the collaboration focusing on the brand’s Grid Azura 2000 silhouette. First appearing at last year’s ComplexCon, the shoe made a statement with a hodgepodge of colors, patterns, and fabrics. It looks like—and I swear, somehow this is a compliment—Tips threw 23 different sneaker colorways in a blender and somehow ended up with Dr. Pepper, so to speak. Saucony hadn’t had this many eyes on it in ages, if ever, and the collaboration soon chugged along with two colorways of the ProGrid Omni 9. This week, the two close out a strong year in style.
December 6 will see the release of the Jae Tips x Saucony Matrix, yanking the running silhouette out of the brand’s archive for the first time since 2000. Like the prior colorways, the shoe utilizes bold colorblocking and contrasting textiles for a shoe that does anything but blend in. The Matrix’s upper is composed of a combination of maroon wool and light brown nubuck leather, set off by a patterned silver swoop running up the middle of the wool. It’s contrasted with a lavender and green sole (once again, somehow this works) and teal tongues bearing the Saucony and Savior Worldwide logos.
There’s no telling where Jae Tips and Saucony will go in 2025, but wherever it is, suffice to say they won’t be going there quietly. The Jae Tips x Saucony Matrix launches this Friday, December 6 on saucony.com for $170.
