The Future of Feet.
Photos: Vincent Picone
Last summer we had the honor of releasing our first sneaker collaboration, the Saucony for 3sixteen Peregrine 15 “Gesso.” We took a technical trail running silhouette and sought to redefine it for casual wear through a fashion-forward neutral color pallete - one that also happened to be ripe for dip dyeing and customization. Natural dyes and high-touch manual processes serve as consistent throughlines in our collection and it was fun to be able to bring those ideas into the release. We were happy to see the project so well received, especially since our second project with Saucony was well underway. This week, we are proud to launch the Guide v7.3s.
The Saucony for 3sixteen Guide v7.3s draws inspiration from the cutting edge technology of our youth. As we looked back on what then felt like limitless possibilities and unbridled futurism during the Y2K era, we found inspiration in the staying power of the design ideals of the landscape the Guide 7 was originally designed in. We even channeled this energy in our video campaign which was intended to look like found VHS footage announcing this sneaker's release.
Originally released by Saucony in the early 2000’s as a stability trainer, our Guide 7 collaboration employs luxurious hairy suedes contrasted with smooth nubuck, a breathable retro-inspired triangle mesh, all atop ProGrid cushioning for exceptional comfort. We added several other detailing that we love on vintage trainers, including an exposed foam tongue and logos that pull inspiration from 90’s era Shadow 6000’s. Our color palletes were inspired by the hardware of the era, from translucent neon hardware casings to the cool greys and beiges of mechanical keyboards and CRT monitors.
A few have asked us where the complicated v7.3s name came from. The tongue-in-cheek nomenclature was actually coined by Jordan Butcher of Strange Practice as he was working on the shoebox packaging design. Our brief was to make the box look like an operating system that you’d manually install on your desktop and he he nailed the vision to a T, even coming back with a version name for the shoe in the same way that you would designate a new software update. You can consider this the 3sixteen “version” of the Guide 7.
We’ll be launching both colorways - Lime and Graphite - on 3sixteen.com at noon ET this Thursday, March 12th at a retail price of $165. Both our NY & LA flagship stores will have their allocations available for sale when we open for business on the same day. The sneakers will also enjoy a global release on March 13th via saucony.com and a number of participating 3sixteen and sneaker retailers.
A special thank you to our creative team -
Director: Delgis Mustafa
DoP & Editor: Vincent Picone
Sound Mixer: Adam Radice
Motion Graphics: John Camalick
Tape Transfer: Photodom
Writer: Delgis Mustafa, John Itiola
Talent: John Itiola
Graphic Design: Studio Mast, Strange Practice, Jacques Baudoin
Product Stills: Almost Almost