Track and Field Star Allyson Felix Launches Saysh, Her Own Footwear and Apparel Brand
Felix’s brand’s first product is the Saysh 1, a lifestyle sneaker — and she’ll also race in Saysh spikes during the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Just after qualifying for the Tokyo Olympic Games, track and field star Allyson Felix has launched Saysh, her own footwear and apparel brand. Created so Felix can “disrupt traditional athletic sponsorships, run in a brand that prioritizes Black maternal health, and provide more opportunities for women within the footwear and sports industries,” per a press release, Saysh’s first product is the Saysh One, a unique lifestyle sneaker.
The Saysh One arrives in three different colorways: black, white and light blue with white, each displayed in a “I Know My Place” campaign — shot by photographer Harrison Boyce, who’s known for his work with Nigel Sylvester and Aimé Leon Dore. Each features a trim mesh-and-synthetic upper with faint striped patterns running up the forefoot and across the toebox for contrast. Branding is kept to a minimum, with low-key hits on the tongue and heel. Down below, white EVA foam midsoles and gum outsoles finalize each look. Saysh will also produce a track spike for Felix to run in during the Olympic Games.
Before starting Saysh, Felix was a longtime Nike athlete. However, she developed friction with the company when her contract expired in 2017 because it refused to provide her with maternity protection if she renewed — and offered her 70% less than what she had made on her prior deal. “I can take less money, but the one point that I wasn’t willing to budge around was maternity, and not because I’m planning to have another child, but just because it’s the right thing to do,” Felix told the New York Times in a 2019 op-ed after ending negotiations with the brand. The Tokyo Olympic Games will be the 35-year-old Felix’s last Games (and first since her pregnancy), and she’s looking to add to her six gold and three silver medals.
Saysh’s Saysh One is available for pre-order now on the brand’s webstore, and is priced at $150 USD.
Elsewhere in the world of sneakers, check out the latest installment of HYPEBEAST’s weekly Best Footwear Drops list.
