Metagirl Brings Hyperfemininity To Sneakers With First Saucony Collaboration

Matt Varga: How did you first get into the world of footwear? 

Caterina Mongillo/METAGIRL: It happened almost by mistake, by chance. I was a track and field athlete, and when it was time to get an internship, I was obsessed with getting something associated with running. I was running so much. I landed this internship with a sporting goods company in that running vertical, but also crossing the boundary into lifestyle. Then just the inspiration of how outside artists were creating their own designs evolved into the seeds of METAGIRL outside of work hours; eventually quitting my job, trying to make it my full-time job, until it eventually became reality. It’s been a crazy ride because once it was only a dream and now it’s just a reality of my daily work.

How would you say your approach to design evolved over that timespan?

At the beginning, I was first experimenting a lot with what I just had at home. At some point I was really trying to put my work more out there because I wanted to make it my full-time job. With that, I feel like I was not being true to myself at some point; obviously there were reflections of myself, but in a sense I was trying too hard to be someone else. The second I approached it as “I’m only going to do it for me,” that’s when I was able to see the success I had been striving for.

It eventually became about delivering the message to other people much more than anything else. I grew up in an environment where, although I was always a creative kid, outside forces were really forcing you to follow a traditional path. So I repressed that creative option for so long in that space where it wasn’t a viable option. Oftentimes, I’ll hear people saying “I’m not creative,” but in my opinion, everyone is. A lot of people message me still and they’re like “because of you, I just picked up this project.”

A lesson I’ve learned is that there isn’t ever a perfect moment for anything creative; regardless of how long you’re postponing something, you can always make it happen at some point. The past doesn’t define you because we’re all in the same boat. We’re all postponing these creative projects, but you can start now today.

How did the relationship between you and Saucony come about?

It seems like Jason [Jason Faustino, Director of Collaboration and Energy at Saucony] was keeping his eyes on my Instagram for a while. Someone released an article on how women are shaping the customization game, and from the story that I’ve heard, Jason took it as a sign to finally reach out and made the connection. We later found out we were both based in Boston, which really helped to get to work on these things together and see each other in person.

People inside Saucony were definitely paying attention to you, but how did you see Saucony from your perspective before joining up?

For us as Italians, Saucony is an iconic brand in terms of their classic running silhouettes. When Jae Tips won Sneaker of the Year in 2023, that brought them a lot of visibility in my eyes, and I was really impressed by the impact they had on the community. It told me that Saucony is open to let the creative speak. From a product standpoint, that shoe was so complex, it had so many materials, it showed that Saucony is open to making things happen developmentally as well. A lot of times, companies are zoned in on commercial ability, whereas Saucony was totally open with their product.

This is the first that the public is seeing of the Saucony Paramount. What spoke to you most about this particular shoe?

I was in love with everything I was finding on eBay and Poshmark as we really got started on this partnership, the whole category of late 2000s/early 2010s running models. For the Paramount, I was blown away by the details in the upper, the midsole construction. It was just intuitive; it was a silhouette I gravitated towards and simultaneously one that the design team was considering for a retro.

How did you land on the “Daughter of the Moon” concept?
I always like to connect the dots, and for my first commercial collaboration ever with a major brand, I wanted this to carry meaning. The DNA from Saucony is already there by default, and as I brought the Metagirl DNA into the picture, pearls have been an incredibly important recurring element. Jason and I had this four hour conversation towards the start, and we talked about the moon and its spiritual importance; obviously it governs the circadian rhythm. In wanting to condense both of those pieces of imagery, I found this ancient Vedic text from Indian culture that considers pearls to be the “Daughter of the Moon,” and that’s how it came to be the guiding light for this shoe.

In terms of manufacturing, the METAGIRL Saucony Paramount really is a transformation; the heel counter, the lace detailing. Was it a challenge to bring such heavy material changes to this shoe?

I have to say, I was incredibly, positively impressed from the first meeting between myself and the Saucony team. Before that point, my only direct contact was Jason, so I put together material references, a color palette, and a ton of ideas that allowed my typical customizations to shine through in this design. I must’ve brought five or six proposals and the team was very open to trying to make everything happen. Obviously I was aware of the costs within footwear creation, so I wasn’t expecting them to say yes to everything, but they were so committed and open to bringing those to life. The product creation team (Alyssa Weitzman, Catherine Miller, Deon Stevenson, Luca Ciccone, Isaac Neaves) had a very lengthy job on their side to figure out logistics. It involved a lot of internal conversations, a lot of timelines, and a lot of working their ass off. They’re heroes, honestly.

You spoke in one of your last interviews about the rise in feminine design in the industry as a whole – obviously something at the core of what you do as METAGIRL. Do you have any reflections as that’s become something nearly every brand speaks to?

It’s all very positive, and I see an improvement within communities outside of only the female community. Everyone is much more open to accepting these sorts of designs; it’s not something you can ignore or brush to the side.

We’d be remiss not to ask — can we expect more from the Saucony x METAGIRL relationship in the future?
Maybe!

As you check off this first major commercial collaboration, what do you envision for the future of METAGIRL Studios?
The idea of METAGIRL is to always evolve. It’ll definitely involve figuring out new ways to interpret “hyperfeminity” through different materializations, collaborations, silhouettes. The idea behind this whole project is I don’t want to do the same things over and over again, so I’m excited myself to see how it plays out, honestly.