We’re longtime fans of Massachusetts-based footwear brand Victory Sportswear. But the brand’s history runs deeper than its establishment in 2015. Victory Sportswear was originally the Hersey Custom Shoe Company, a custom running sneaker manufacturer founded in 1982 by Bart and Jan Hersey in a retrofitted Maine barn. Three years into operation, the company was crowned the world’s best running shoe by the sport’s foremost publication, Runner’s World Magazine.
25 years later after Hersey launched, Stephen Keoseian — a third-generation shoe repairman from Fitchburg, Massachusetts (hence why the business moved from Maine to Massachusetts) — purchased the company from its retiring owner after learning the ins and outs through apprenticeship. Keoseian wanted the shoes to reach a wider audience, but didn’t want to shed Hersey’s loyal customers, so he started Victory Sportswear, offering the same individual construction in a mass market design, while leaving the customizable options to the Hersey label (until Hersey and Victory Sportswear became one brand in 2019).
As such, Victory Sportswear isn’t treated like a newcomer in the space. Instead, Victory is a bonafide cult favorite — with marathon runners and mood board operators just the same. Having collaborated with JJJJound, Nepenthes, Steven Alan and now Todd Snyder, they’re a menswear (and athletics) gem you’re guaranteed to enjoy. Hell, our original review back in 2016 simply summated that Victory’s sneakers are “a good-looking, great-feeling athletic shoe with an outstanding track record to boot” that “fit like a custom product, providing support through the instep while retaining flexibility in the toe box.”
Snyder’s no rookie when it comes to tapping into Northeastern American lore. (See: his previous collaborations with Champion, J.Press L.L. Bean and New Balance.) He manages to combine his own sensibilities and those that have made these historic brands so beloved quite well. And these new Victory iterations are no exception. They’re made in the same way Victory has always made sneakers — by hand in Massachusetts with an emphasis on the finer details — in faded pastel hues similar to ones Snyder’s favored in other collections (Dark Gray, Navy and Moss). Each is constructed using vegetable tanned leather accents and nubby Vibram soles (which can be replaced up to four times for a flat fee) and finished with a co-branded tongue and clean contrasting laces. They’re selling for a fair $250 (only $20 more than Victory’s standard sneakers).
Shop Todd Snyder x Victory Sportswear
Todd SnyderMade in the USA Running Shoe
Todd SnyderMade in the USA Running Shoe
Todd Snyder