Veja's Condor 3 running sneaker gets running sneakers right. Not that Veja's prior performance shoes were lacking technically, I'm sure, but the Condor 3 is the first Veja runner to cross over from athleticism to lifestyle and back again.
Because that's the thing: Veja is one of the most popular sneaker brands that sneakerheads simply do not talk about, save for fashionable collaborations with the likes of Marni and Rick Owens.
I suspect that's primarily down to the fact that Veja is just really, really good at producing ordinary-looking sneakers.
No shame in that — there's obviously a gargantuan market for versatile daily drivers with an eco-conscious bent — it just doesn't get the sneaker world goin' in the vein of limited edition New Balances and new Jordan colorways.
But akin to the growing rise of HOKA within sneaker-savvy circles, Veja could be poised to ride the burgeoning wave of interest for wearable sport sneakers grounded in functionality.
In other words, there's a growing contentedness with shoes that're humbly sporty but not as elderly as ye olde dad shoes.
Which brings us back to the Condor 3. Released March 28 via Veja's site and stores, this is the latest of Veja's utilitarian running shoes and I'd posit that they're the first entry in the line that truly works from a style perspective.
2019's Condor 1 felt a bit too dated to cross over in this way — it stylistically resembled the adidas Ultraboost and Nike Roshe Run, shoes that were trendy in 2013 — and 2021's Condor 2 looked like a running shoe made by a brand that doesn't specialize in running shoes, the Condor 3 hits a sweet spot with its tastefully toned-down colorways, recycled poly mesh upper, and just-thick-enough bio-based EVA midsole.
This is the Veja shoe for the HOKA era. All it needs is a couple killer team-ups to take off and, honestly, Veja has a demonstrated impressive capability for collaborations. Paging KITH...
