For track-and-field star Allyson Felix, running shoes are no mere garment. But in 2019, even with six Olympic sprinting medals to her name, she still found that she was without the perfect running shoe — or the perfect footwear sponsor. "I was tired of asking for change," she says. So, at long last, she took matters into her own hands — and built a running shoe brand of her own: Saysh.
When Felix met with her team of product designers, she knew she wanted to create something truly innovative. "We wanted to make shoes that were for women by women," says designer Tiffany Beer. "So we decided to build a shoe as if no shoe had existed before." Bearing in mind that women's feet tend to have a narrower heel and a wider forefoot, these particular shoes were designed specifically around Felix's feet, rather than an existing running shoe template.
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Of course, in the midst of a pandemic, collaborating remotely to pull off a word-class running sneaker is no small feat. But fortunately, thanks to Logitech technology, the Saysh team found innovative ways to stay connected while quarantined in separate locales. And in spite of the evident roadblocks, they quickly found that their model was an overwhelming success. In fact, in addition to the traditional running shoe, the team has already built a spiked sneaker that's been cleared for use in the Olympic Games.
"I think the coolest thing about the shoe is that women didn't know they were missing this," Felix says. "And giving women something they deserve just feels so powerful." Watch the video, above, for a better look at the product design behind the Saysh shoes — and the ways Allyson Felix is rethinking women's footwear as a whole.
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