This year, in celebration of the Shadow 6000’s 30th anniversary, Saucony is relaunching the ’90s silhouette. The sneaker, which was first launched in 1991, was originally designed as a top-of-the-line running sneaker but has since crossed over into the lifestyle sector.
Once the subject of several high-profile collaborations and special projects, the Shadow 6000 has laid dormant for the past few years. Now, however, Saucony is signally its intent to relaunch the model with great fanfare, starting with a special project in Milan, Italy.
EricsOne, a Milan-based artist, was tapped to create a massive mural inspired by the Shadow 6000 in the city’s Brera design district. The mural was unveiled on September 4 during Milan Design Week. Additionally, Saucony will launch the Shadow 6000 OG on September 6, signalling the official return of the silhouette (though a collaboration with Up There dropped earlier this summer already).
Speaking exclusively to Highsnobiety, Saucony’s global product and merchandising director, Paolo Petri, explained what role collaborations and special projects will play in the Shadow 6000’s big relaunch this year.
“In the mid 2010s, collaborations first established this silhouette in the sneaker game and now we have a second wave of partnerships in the pipeline to celebrate the Shadow 6000 30th anniversary,” he explains. “We also wanted in-house designers to play a key role in the Shadow 6000’s celebration,hence we created a limited editions program called ‘Saucony x Saucony’, where our internal designers are able to express their creativity and passion through a Shadow 6000 reinterpretation like a partner would do in collaboration with the brand.”
While Saucony boasts a wide-ranging catalog of products on the lifestyle side, the Shadow 6000 has been a favorite of collaborators in the past and is one of the brand’s most popular silhouettes.
“As a performance running silhouette, it has been one of the greatest successes of Saucony since the early ’90s and then, more recently, it’s become a must-have for all Saucony sneaker lovers. So much so, that collaborations with the likes of Bodega, Footpatrol, Extra Butter, and many others have taken place and established this style as a classic in sneaker culture.”
The Saucony Shadow 6000 OG drops today, and you can expect further special projects and collaborations to follow in the coming months.
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