This Rugged P.F. Flyers Collab Is Ready for Summertime Adventure

Saeed Ferguson knows what it means to start over. Last year, the visual artist and designer shuttered All Caps Studio, the art-meets-fashion project that helped turn him from a local shop kid into one of Philadelphia’s rising creative forces. And just as Ferguson’s reset was taking shape, he began having conversations with the legendary sneakermakers at P.F. Flyers. “For a designer, having a footwear project is a pivotal moment,” he says. “The shoe as a medium is sacred in a way.” Rather than ease into things, Ferguson decided to introduce his new label, Projeck Frog, and his first-ever sneaker collaboration all in one shot. The shoe is set to drop this weekend.Ferguson came up through Philly’s retail scene, spending nearly a decade at P’s & Q’s, the influential shop that became the city’s streetwear clubhouse. He began on the sales floor before eventually becoming the store’s manager and buyer. Meanwhile, he was photographing, filming, blogging, and slowly building All Caps Studio into a full-time creative practice. “Really, I’m a storyteller,” Ferguson says. What started as a series of screenprinting experiments eventually became a full-fledged clothing label. The brand later linked with Zara for a collection GQ dubbed the buzz-beater collaboration of 2024. Plenty of ACS fans were hit hard by the news of last year’s closure and eagerly awaited Ferguson’s next move.Courtesy of Projeck FrogCourtesy of Projeck FrogWhen P.F. Flyers opened its catalog to him, Ferguson was still figuring out what would eventually become Projeck Frog. But he immediately gravitated toward the Grounder, a tough-wearing canvas sneaker originally developed for the U.S. Army in the 1940s. P.F. Flyers wanted to ruggedize the traditional midcentury canvas trainer, so the Grounder was built for resilience: heavy canvas uppers, waxed laces, a lugged outsole, and a reinforced toe bumper. This was a shoe designed for dirt, mud, and whatever gritty terrain came your way.The Grounder turned out to be the perfect match for one of Ferguson’s most beloved places: Wissahickon Valley Park, a sprawling stretch of woodland tucked improbably close to downtown Philadelphia. “You can be in Center City and then 20 minutes later be in the most dense nature,” he says. “That dynamic in Philly is really special.” Nature has long informed Ferguson’s work, and he loved the idea of designing a shoe rooted in the outdoors and his fascination with frogs. (There’s something about their metamorphosis that he finds especially compelling.)Courtesy of Projeck FrogCourtesy of Projeck FrogFor the shoe’s uppers, he drew inspiration from the Brazil-nut poison frog, a tiny amphibian marked by dark, inky skin speckled with flashes of orange and white. The design uses rugged cotton canvas printed with a texture that reads like either tree bark or reptilian skin, while earthy browns and blacks are offset by vibrant orange contrast stitching. It’s subtle, tactile, and just strange enough for sneakerheads to love. (Especially as stylish canvas kicks have surged back into the menswear spotlight.) Besides, who doesn’t want a sneaker that can move seamlessly from the trail back into the city?During our conversation, Ferguson refers to the late Virgil Abloh as the benchmark for building a creative identity beyond a single discipline. “He created this new way of thinking,” Ferguson says. “If you really want to make something happen, you have to create this world for yourself.” That idea—world-building and storytelling rather than mere product-making—feels central to Projeck Frog and the next phase of Ferguson’s career. The storyteller is already brainstorming future projects and collaborations. This sneaker is just his opening scene.The P.F. Flyers x Projeck Frog Grounder launches on Saturday, May 16, for $125 on pfflyers.com and at Ace Outpost Philadelphia.