Style
Converse teases shoe collabs with Off-White, Dior's Kim Jones, and more
Telfar, Comme des Garçons, Draymond Green, and Bandulu are all coming into the fold.
Converse is saying to hell with surprises and has revealed a wide lineup of collaborators for this spring and summer. In addition to existing partners including Off-White and Chinatown Market, the Nike-owned brand is bringing a bunch of new creators to play with their sneakers for the very first time.
Big-name designers, star athletes, and small but innovative brands will join as Converse welcomes "new thought, new vision, new purpose, new energy and new intention," as Brandis Russell, Converse VP of footwear, said in a release.
Among them is Kim Jones, who's taken inspiration from the Chuck Taylor for one of his biggest hits at Dior, the B23 Oblique sneaker. We'll have to wait to see his and the many others' designs, but Jones says he'll explore Converse's simultaneous popularity in the '90s with both the Ivy League and grunge scenes.
Who else they got? — Golden State Warriors do-it-all center Draymond Green, who signed with Converse in March, will release his very first sneaker collaboration this year. Bandulu, which typically does beautiful embroidery on a range of vintage Nike products, also joins forces with Converse for the first time.
Other familiar collaborators include Comme des Garçons Play, the Boston sneaker boutique Concepts, and Tyler, the Creator. Telfar, which just recently launched its first Converse collab, will also release more goods in the near future. Of those returning, Off-White will naturally bring the most hype as it follows up its translucent Chuck Taylors released in 2017 as part Virgil Abloh's original "The Ten" collection.
It should be a big year for Converse — By announcing a half-year's worth of collaborators all at once instead of one at a time, Converse is signaling an aggressive push for attention in the increasingly crowded space of sneakers.
The 112-year-old brand hasn't wanted for collaborators in recent years, and in 2020 it joined in on Nike's emphasis on using more recycled materials. But never have we seen a list of names this strong for Converse, and we're excited for when we start seeing the kicks that come with 'em.
