'It's Like Dating': How Jae Tips and Jason Faustino Became Saucony's Perfect Match

In an industry where sneaker colabs are a dime a dozen, creating a meaningful, long-term partnership doesn’t happen half as often as it should. Thankfully, with four releases under their belt and their ‘I love you but I’m busy’ in the pipeline, and have found a winning formula. Ahead of the Grid 9’s release, we caught up with Jae and Jason Faustino, Saucony’s director of energy and collaborations, to talk about their partnership, future projects and how they both brought on board.

Jae, let’s start at the beginning. What were your memories of Saucony growing up?

Jae: I vividly remember buying the x Saucony Shadow when I was 23 years old. I wore them to a concert and actually got fired from Foot Locker the next day. But I'll always remember that moment because I was wearing a brand that was different to what everyone else was wearing. At the concert I had a really good outfit on and everybody was asking me what I was wearing, which actually foreshadows how a lot of our colab work goes – people are always wondering what's on our feet and want to learn more about it. But that was probably my earliest memory of the brand – I just wanted a pair. I didn't know what Bodega was and I didn't know what Saucony was, but I wanted a pair.

Did that shoe inform your first collaboration?

Jae: Yes. When we first had conversations with Saucony, Jason and the team, they just wanted to know more about my plans and what I had going on. I remember telling my inner circle that I would only work with a footwear brand if I knew I would wear the shoe and I knew Saucony had product I would wear because I already did. And that was with no one else's influence or cosign. So I knew there was a way we could find something I would wear.

We love that! So you've worked on the Azura, the Shadow, the Pro Grid Omni 9 and The Matrix before your new one, the Jazz 9. What was it about the design of each of those shoes that appealed to you?

Jae: Each shoe we worked on together felt like it was unlimited in terms of options and panels. I could tell a colour story through different breakdowns of the shoe and it would be an adventure. I think that's one thing that drew me to the first ever shoe we worked on, the . There were so many different options of things we could do. I think if anybody wanted a key to how I design, how I see things, it’s that the more I can work with it, the more excited I get.

More is more! That brings me onto my next question. These colourways, particularly the Pro Grid, really resonated with our community. They loved that shoe. What informed the colour palette for the two versions?

Jae: I'm a very nostalgic person. One thing I like to do is – no matter whatever my high is – I like to tie back to things that I was doing early on, whether it was just working on my brand, making buttons, making pens, or making t-shirts. The colours of coral and purple were always colours that I would incorporate into my early products. And when I learned to work with embroidery machines and things, you couldn't always use the rainbow. You had to break it down to a few colours or you would get charged a lot. So I remember I had a full-colour wheel and the embroidery person was like, 'You have to break it down to two'. And I remember choosing the coral and purple. From then they've always been the colours I felt represented my brand identity the most. So with the , we were excited to work on a shoe and I was like, you know what? I wanted something that people were going to be like, that's a Jae Tips product. And I feel like I was continuing the story.

For sure. So it's well documented that you're working with Jase. What does the process look like between the two of you and then also the wider Saucony team?

Jae: The process usually starts with me asking for a CAD, like a design file. And I'll work on it and I'll pretty much ask Jason when's the right time to present things to him and he'll map it out. My favourite part about working with the Saucony team is when Jason pulls them together in the room, they're like the Avengers and they dissect whatever my idea was. Then they just make it even bigger, and we just sit down, have a good time and work really fast. We work really well together. There usually aren't a lot of changes because I feel like I come in with a ton of ideas and then the ideas of the Saucony team just make everything bigger than I could even think about. So what can I even change?

Jase, you're nodding along so enthusiastically. I can tell there's such a good rapport here.

Jase: It's also my favourite part. I look forward to it. You get into those rooms, the design sessions, and I hand him over a blank CAD, a white page with black lines, and then he hands me back something that I'm like, 'you know what I mean?' It's so exciting. And it's usually all there. We don’t edit much. That colour blocking is right there.

It's great to see how involved Jae is in the process as well. Jae, we heard you might have also opened the doors for the Westside Gunn colab too. Can you tell us about how that conversation evolved?

Jae: To me, I think if I've done anything for Saucony, it's that I've been a good partner. I think when you do good work, you make things look easy. My relationship with Westside Gunn and Saucony started during fashion week this time last year. He told me he wanted a shoe, so I helped the team connect with him. Everything else from that point on was just his love for Saucony and his love for the stuff that I was doing. He had this feeling like 'I can do it too', which is what my brand message is all about – I want everyone to feel like if he can do it, I can do it too. If anything, I just think that me putting out good projects would make him be like, 'I want to win too'.

Jase, let’s touch on the Flygod for a sec. What drew Westside Gunn to the Omni 9 and Triumph 4?

Jase: Westside Gunn works in the same way that Jae does, which is cool because Jae opened that door. We have an open process, we're not worried about which model is the big focus for the season, because – like Jae said – if he's not wearing it, why make him work on it? One thing that I think is really interesting is that Jae and Westside Gunn both picked the Grid Jazz 9 to work on next. They didn't tell each other and they're the only ones who picked that silhouette. I'm excited to see the energy they both bring to it. But working with Westside Gunn is very cool because he's already had a very successful career but he saw what Jae did and wanted to try his hand at it too. He's not doing it because it's the thing to do or because he sees other rappers or musicians doing it, he's just got a pure love for fashion, style and creative expression.

Speaking about the Jazz 9, talk us through your upcoming colab please, Jae!

Jae: It's called 'I love you but I'm busy'. Those who are familiar with me or my hat-making might recognise the colourway. It's gonna be an exciting one. I'm excited.

Jase, we've touched on the rapport between the two of you. What made Jae such a great fit for Saucony?

Jase: When I first met Jae, I could see that his hunger and drive was really palpable. So I knew we were working with someone who was hungry and that was a good fit for Saucony. At the time, when we met in 2019 or 2020, Saucony was trying to make a bigger name for ourselves and the industry was open to more newness and not just the biggest brands or biggest names. Jae was a partner that I felt could be a star if someone gave him the opportunity. I could see that at the beginning, but I didn't know that we'd become so close, he's like a brother to me now. But in the beginning, it was all about passion and hunger and it started from a genuine love for sneakers and how it feels to step outside and talk to people about them. I feel like you can't go wrong with people who are genuinely excited about product in this industry.

Passion is key! We were speaking outside about how you're always looking for creatives who are slightly under the radar. What's your process for finding these people and what draws you to them?

Jase: The secret is that there is no process. Maybe some teams sit in a boardroom and decide they're going to target someone in the fashion space or someone in the women's space. I don't really go for that. I love this industry and I'm into it, so I just vibe with whatever is creating energy and momentum. With Jae, I saw people lining up for his hats the way I remember people lining up for sneakers, so that opened my eyes big time. I also root for the underdog, I've been a beginner in many phases of my life so I like to give people those opportunities because I know what it means. But finding the right partner really comes down to seeing who's connecting with their community and who's doing things for the right reason. Then it becomes like dating, seeing if there's chemistry there and making sure you really like each other and want to do great things together.

How did you know you'd click with Jae?

Jase: You don't know from the outside. It's just gut instinct at that point. In Jae's case, someone had introduced us but I already had an interest in him. In other cases, it's often me lurking and picking up on others' signals. I really like when artists and creatives genuinely express themselves on social media instead of just showcasing their work. I'm looking to see who's behind this stuff. I don't always think 'oh now we're going to make shoes together', but I'd at least like to connect with them. Then, whatever happens, happens.

Who else would you like to bring to the brand in the future?

Jase: I don't know, that's a great question! I just like them to find me. If it were up to me, I'd choose different film directors but they probably wouldn't resonate through sneakers. I think it's important that the sneaker community sees a little bit of themselves in the artist. I don't necessarily have a moodboard or a radar of targets in my mind.

Saucony showed tremendous strength in 2024. Where do you see the brand in five years?

Jase: In five years? Gosh. We've had such a strong past two years that it's so hard to think about five. For me, in collaborations, I've always said from the beginning and something that I've nurtured during my time at the brand, is that anyone we're working with is not just transactional. We want to grow together like a family and still be working together five years down the line. So I want to continue to cultivate who is in our circle and evolve the ways we work together. Obviously it will always come back to shoes but I think there will be other ways we can creatively express things together. Also on the performance side, Saucony has continued to innovate, and sitting within the lifestyle space, we need that push. I like wondering if something like the first Endorphin from 2020 would come back as a retro in five years from now when someone like Jae will bring it back to work on as a lifestyle colab. That's pretty exciting to me. So I can see that happening as trend cycles are so much faster now and we won't have to wait 20 years for something to be cool again. But over the next five years, you can expect a lot of innovation within our products and a lot of energy coming through from our partners.

Last question for the both of you, a Saucony silhouette that you'd love to work on together in the future and why?

Jae: I would love to work on the just because that was a shoe I first felt had the most potential when we were working on stuff, but I don't think it was available at the time. So I think if I ever got an opportunity to design on a Grid Web, I definitely would.

Jase: I think the Grid Web came out in 2002, but it was brought back in 2019. I had just started, so I wasn't even doing collaborations yet, but I don't think the brand was at a point where a product like the Grid Web was being received by the world the same way it would now if it came back. I think people would love the product in its own, but a Jae Tips version would probably break the internet. That's a shoe I felt lacked in marketing, but I do think it takes colour really well. So Jae, he would crush that.