Jae Tips Gives the Bronx Its Flowers With Saucony Sneaker Collaboration

Jae Tips, one of Saucony's most popular collaborators, is back with the latest installment of his line: the ProGrid Triumph 4 "Flowers Grow Uptown" collection. The Bronx-born designer returns with a new drop following several sell-out releases.

With his signature, eye-catching colorways, the "Flowers Grow Uptown" comes in three colorways: Virginia Creeper, Perilla, and Sugar Maple, and draws inspiration from the floral backdrop that thrives in his home borough, translating the beauty of the urban landscape into a retro runner silhouette.

Along with his signature "UPTOWN" and "SAVIOR" branding, Jae Tips' talent and storytelling, and attention to detail have curated a must-have for sneaker heads everywhere.

The Flowers Grow Uptown collection made its debut in London last month at Saucony’s London flagship store in Covent Garden, marking Jae Tips’ first-ever appearance in the United Kingdom. The release continued with an exclusive drop in New York City, before rolling out globally on October 10.

Adding to the excitement, the Poison Ivy colorway will launch exclusively at ComplexCon Las Vegas 2025. Each pair will be priced at $180 in adult sizes.

Kicks On SI was on hand at Jae Tips Pop-Out in New York City to celebrate his newest release, and we spoke about his creative process, the Bronx as his inspiration, and why his partnership with Saucony has been so successful.

After all of the behind-the-scenes work that you put in, how does it feel to release the "Flowers Grow Uptown" collection to the world?

Jae Tips: I just love it. I feel like art imitates life. Through my collaboration with Saucony, I feel like they've been an amplifier of my voice. And sometimes I go on really big ideas, and they just tell me how it can happen, which is, to me, a partnership made in heaven.

For this particular project, Flowers Grow Uptown happened in between designing, dropping projects, and traveling a lot. One thing I learned about my process was that I've traveled all over the world just trying to get back home.

So I just wanted to appreciate how much the Bronx meant to me, how much uptown meant to me, and even though we're in the Lower East Side with a pop-up, I felt like it was important to highlight what the plants and the leaves meant that grew in the Bronx.

I took all those plants that I would see the most when I was taking my kids to school. I just transformed them into color ways. I feel like that's always been my thing, to be able to design in that way where it's like people wonder.

What’s the inspiration behind the concept "Flowers Grow Uptown"?

Jae Tips: It's always something so simple in life. I did a little bit of flex because I wanted to not only show you what the Bronx meant to me, but I also wanted to show what my Saucony partnership has meant. That's why the colorways might look like a leaf that's dying, but it's just in this process.

I felt like I wanted to show three different processes, and then I wanted to show all green, one with shows. But I feel like where I feel like I'm at as a designer, like I want full growth, but at the same time, showing just the process of plant life in New York City.

How did your partnership with Saucony begin?

Jae Tips: My partnership with Saucony started because I think that most brands right now are looking for somebody that can have a voice, a community, and somebody that speaks to an audience, that maybe they don't serve, or they don't, they're not able to include.

For me, I was designing hats. I was creating a lot of energy in different cities by taking a regular Yankee hat or a Dodger and giving it a different meaning. So at that point, it was just like we see, we see this being possible in other places, and you could do this with some shoes, this would be cool. I've been collecting shoes since I was four years old, so I was like, "Let's give it a try." Four years later, I'm here.

Following your acclaimed career as a rapper, your transition as a designer has been seamless. How does it feel to have such a successful and thriving partnership with Saucony?

Jae Tips: I think I always manifested over my projects. I think the shoe of the year of stuff, and the big stages and big notoriety, is always a reward. Even from my music days, I always felt like if you put the ingredients into the pot, the universe will bless it. Bless it. That's what I've always tried to do with Saucony.

If it's a good product, then the world has to do its job. If I'm putting my best foot forward and my story is tight, the universe will reward me. I think that's the one thing about my shoes compared to a lot of other collaborations or just other shoes in the market, I feel like if you put it on the shelf, people still know it's something special, because of how much love goes into it. So, you know, I'm just doing my part.

Lastly, what was the vision behind your Savior Worldwide brand?

Jae Tips: Savior Worldwide was birthed through my mixtape era. Growing up in my community, I was influenced by Stack Bundles, who used to rap a lot about fashion. He used to call himself the Savior, so it was always something I used to just yell on songs, calling myself the Uptown Savior.

So to me, the universe rewarded me when I put a shirt out that says Savior, or brand out or Savior on it, which is aligned with everything I've been working on. I'm the voice of the voiceless. I'm the voice of the community. I'm the voice of the underserved.

I'm the voice of people who beg for shots that just didn't have an outlet. And to me, I think every project and every process drop weighs on the people who see me really come up. Whether it's flipping shoes, working retail, or just hanging out in Soho, to now, where I am representing a global brand.

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