Converse has pulled back the curtain on 2021 with news of collaborations planned with multiple designers, creatives and athletes. Looking ahead, the brand has announced plans to work with Dior designer Kim Jones, Comme des Garçons Play, Off-White, Tyler the Creator, Bandulu, Concepts, Chinatown Market as well as goofy-footed American skateboarder and architect Alexis Sablone.
The heritage basketball brand also has efforts in the queue with NBA players Draymond Green and Julius Erving and WNBA player Natasha Cloud.
Converse started the year with a bang, releasing a Chuck 70 and clothing collection with Telfar, a New York-based label recently awarded best fashion design of the year for its famed Shopping Bag silhouette.
Converse’s efforts with Comme des Garçons Play, Off-White, Tyler the Creator, Concepts and Chinatown Market are a continuation from prior-year efforts while its upcoming collaborations with with Kim Jones, Bandalu and Concepts mark a first time design partnership.
While not included in its official announcement, Rick Owens revealed a square-toe version of the Converse Chuck 70 sneaker during his fall 2021 presentation in Venice yesterday.
Converse also worked with Joe Freshgoods on a shoe and apparel capsule celebrating Black soul.
Commenting on the design theme for his collaboration, Jones explained, “For my upcoming collaboration with Converse, I was really interested in the functionality of the design. And making something that was Ivy League via the ’90s and in a preppy American way with grunge elements, and exploring the reality of this, but also the functionality.”
