A footwear assembly comprising: a footwear upper (200, 205, 305, 405) including a forefoot portion and a lacing architecture routing a lace cable (310, 430, 730), the lacing architecture including a plurality of deformable lace guides (220, 222, 320, 420, 710), each deformable lace guide of the plurality of deformable lace guides includes extension portions that transitions between an open state and a closed state; and a lacing engine configured to adjust the lace cable between a first tension and a second tension, wherein the second tension is greater than the first tension; wherein the plurality of deformable lace guides transition to the open state in response to the lacing engine adjusting the lace cable to the first tension, and the plurality of deformable lace guides transition to the closed state in response to the lacing engine adjusting the lace cable to the second tension, wherein: the footwear upper (200, 205, 305, 405) includes a toe box portion, a medial side, a lateral side, and a heel portion, the medial side and the lateral side each extending proximally from the toe box portion to the heel portion; the lace cable has a first end anchored along a distal outside portion of the medial side and a second end anchored along a distal outside portion of the lateral side; and the plurality of deformable lace guides are distributed along the medial side and the lateral side, each deformable lace guide (220, 222, 320, 420, 710) of the plurality of deformable lace guides is adapted to receive a length of the lace cable (310, 430, 730), wherein each deformable lace guide forms a first shape in response to the first tension on the lace cable and a second shape in response to the second tension on the lace cable, and wherein each deformable lace guide operates to contribute to the first tension in the first shape. a footwear upper (200, 205, 305, 405) including a forefoot portion and a lacing architecture routing a lace cable (310, 430, 730), the lacing architecture including a plurality of deformable lace guides (220, 222, 320, 420, 710), each deformable lace guide of the plurality of deformable lace guides includes extension portions that transitions between an open state and a closed state; and a lacing engine configured to adjust the lace cable between a first tension and a second tension, wherein the second tension is greater than the first tension; wherein the plurality of deformable lace guides transition to the open state in response to the lacing engine adjusting the lace cable to the first tension, and the plurality of deformable lace guides transition to the closed state in response to the lacing engine adjusting the lace cable to the second tension, wherein: the footwear upper (200, 205, 305, 405) includes a toe box portion, a medial side, a lateral side, and a heel portion, the medial side and the lateral side each extending proximally from the toe box portion to the heel portion; the lace cable has a first end anchored along a distal outside portion of the medial side and a second end anchored along a distal outside portion of the lateral side; and the plurality of deformable lace guides are distributed along the medial side and the lateral side, each deformable lace guide (220, 222, 320, 420, 710) of the plurality of deformable lace guides is adapted to receive a length of the lace cable (310, 430, 730), wherein each deformable lace guide forms a first shape in response to the first tension on the lace cable and a second shape in response to the second tension on the lace cable, and wherein each deformable lace guide operates to contribute to the first tension in the first shape. the footwear upper (200, 205, 305, 405) includes a toe box portion, a medial side, a lateral side, and a heel portion, the medial side and the lateral side each extending proximally from the toe box portion to the heel portion; the lace cable has a first end anchored along a distal outside portion of the medial side and a second end anchored along a distal outside portion of the lateral side; and the plurality of deformable lace guides are distributed along the medial side and the lateral side, each deformable lace guide (220, 222, 320, 420, 710) of the plurality of deformable lace guides is adapted to receive a length of the lace cable (310, 430, 730), wherein each deformable lace guide forms a first shape in response to the first tension on the lace cable and a second shape in response to the second tension on the lace cable, and wherein each deformable lace guide operates to contribute to the first tension in the first shape.