Everything You Need to Know About End Clothing and Its Saucony Collaboration

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Sneaker collaborations are the result of two (or more) parties agreeing to work on a product. When it came to End and Saucony doing their first sneaker together, Lister said, "We’ve stocked Saucony for a couple of seasons, and we’ve seen them do collaborations with other brands and stores. We put together a proposal and said, 'Guys, this is what we want to do, what do you think of it?' And, thankfully, they said yes."

A proper sneaker collaboration needs a quality inspiration. For End, it was burgers. Here's why the shop ventured into the culinary world for its second sneaker collaboration. "We were looking around the market for something that we could make a good colorway out of and something that would resonate," Lister said. "One of the things we’ve seen become popular over the past few years is the rise of gourmet burger joints. We figured it would connect with the sneakerheads if it was done with the right execution."

End is known for stocking some of the best sneaker releases, but it also sells great apparel to boot. This gives the shop a duality within the style/sneaker world. Given this experience, End has a unique view on a sneaker collaboration. "We’re primarily a lifestyle store, but sneakers are a huge part of our business, too," Lister said. "With this project, we wanted something that fit with our customer and aesthetic. From that, we ended up with something utilizing premium fabrics and materials."

It's easy to say that runners are a growing trend in sneaker culture, but they've been a staple for those who live across the pond. That's why it was easy for End to decide to work on a runner. "The U.S. gets a lot of its sneaker culture from basketball, and over here (England), that’s something that’s growing. But a lot of our customers are looking at runners," Lister said. "We don’t have a huge following of basketball sneakers, or the game itself, so the sneakers don’t always resonate in the market as much. With the running shoes, though, they’re something that’s easier for the average guy to understand." 

Monaghan added, "If you look at British and European sneaker brands, they’ve been doing running sneakers since the start."

Saucony has a strong back catalog, but the Shadow 5000 was the sneaker that worked best for this collaboration. "It’s a clean silhouette, but it has enough panels on it to do something interesting," Lister said. "We looked at other silhouettes, and they were either too tech and had a lot going on or didn’t have enough panels on them. The Shadow 5000 is a happy medium. "

Monaghan also sees the silhouette as something that has a lot going on, but comes together. "With Saucony, the brand’s logo is an interesting shape. You kind of have to take that away from the rest of the sneaker. There are a lot of lines that add more angles to it. But, as a whole, we feel it’s a really clean silhouette and it works."

"On the back of the sneaker, with its panels, it ended up blocking the sneaker nicely in a burger/bun idea, too," Lister said.

A lot of sneakerheads get a bright sneaker and do too much with their outfits. Monaghan thinks that sneakerheads, or anyone who wears this sneaker, should tone it down. "I would keep it clean. The shoe already has a lot of pop. I’d just go with a pair of jeans, a crisp shirt, and a couple of layers on top of that. You’ll let the trainers speak for themselves," he said.

Most of the time, general release sneakers don't come with anything out of the ordinary in regards to how the sneaker is packaged. End made sure its concept was delivered throughout the entire collab. "We came up with a custom box with Saucony, and it harks back to the classic burger box," Lister said.

They weren't a fan of the newer style of burger marketing, though. "Nowadays, fast food places come with very realistic images of the food on the boxes. But we’re taking it back to the old, simple graphics. It’s a tongue-in-cheek play on that," Monaghan said.

"The additional laces are in condiment packages," Lister added.

If you're one of the people who think the UK only has terrible food, then, according to Monaghan, "They’re eating the wrong stuff."

But there's also a connection between the the uprise of fast-casual places to eat in the UK. "In the UK, over the past few years, it’s become more of a foodie place," Lister said. "It’s not like what you guys have in New York, but I think we’re trying to catch up. People are just as passionate, these days, about going to a Michelin star restaurant as they are going to a burger joint. They want things to be less corporate, and support those who are doing it by themselves." 

Some heads in the U.S. might be unfamiliar with End, but they're missing out. The shop has a strong rep across the world, and there's a reason behind it. "People appreciate the fact that we’re an independent retailer. They want to go somewhere that has 1 on 1 service. We’ll get more collaborative sneakers than bigger stores," Lister said. "We have a brick-and-mortar store, too. We’re not just an online entity. People like to come into the physical space, try the shoes on, and hang out."