Fashioning Modern Africanism

Marrying a skate and music-inspired heritage with the diverse spirit of New York, Converse, and Awake NY  have introduced their first collaborative collection.  This debut capsule from the Converse x Awake NY partnership celebrates the burgeoning skate and alternative music scene that blossomed in New York City in the early ‘90s, which coincided with Converse’s reintroduction of the 1974 All Star as the One Star.   First collaborative capsule informed by eclecticism of downtown NY.   Launched by Queens native Angelo Baque in 2012,  the Awake NY reflects the diversity that defines New York City’s landscape and captures the spirit and sensibility of the five boroughs.  This silhouette was embraced by and embedded into the skate and alternative communities, which popularized apparel and sneakers salvaged from the ‘70s.   “The One Star always connects back to the early ‘90s punk and alternative artists I really admired, whether it be Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins, or the Beastie Boys—musi

New Skate Silhouette is Built From  The  Ground Up, Designed for Life On and Off the Board Alexis Sablone  is already unlike any other skater in the park or creative in the studio. A true multi-hyphenate, Alexis is a professional skateboarder, Olymp ian, architect, sculptor, painter, producer, and among other signifiers, an endlessly curious creator. Now, she adds co-creating a signature shoe to her well-earned list of accomplishments, the  Converse AS-1 Pro . Over the last year, Alexis has worked with Converse to concept a new creation in a way that few other athletes can.  Seamlessly bridging the worlds of skate and design for years, Alexis holds a unique perspective. Not only is she one of the most highly regarded skaters in the sport - with unmatched, raw power on the board - she also understands the mechanics of design. This combined knowledge was central in conceptualizing a new sneaker that optimizes feel, ride, and responsiveness. After obsessing the details alongside the Conve

THE CTAS CRUISE MIXES THROWBACK STYLE AND COMFORT FOR A LIGHTWEIGHT TAKE ON A CLASSIC This month, as Mzansi celebrates all the phenomenal women of the country,  Converse  is introducing the  Chuck Taylor All Star Cruise —an all-new silhouette that takes inspiration from the skateboard and boldly pushes style to create the next chapter of the Chuck Taylor legacy. The Chuck Taylor All Star Cruise is designed to pay homage to the counterculture fashion scene that adopted the Chuck Taylor All Star as its own.   The CTAS Cruise  features a lightweight, canvas and suede construction lined with skate-inspired elements, including a suede eye-row overlay and punched eyelets. A disrupted, elevated, and layered midsole adds a modern touch that distinguishes the Cruise from the classic Chuck Taylor while retaining the signature Converse style. Because comfort is key to the new silhouette, it has a foam midsole, OrthoLite cushioning and a lightweight EVA-injected outsole for the additional bounce e

Converse All Stars Thato Bernardo and Ginelio Win the All Star Project 2022 Global footwear company brand  Converse  has recently awarded Thato Chosa Ché Bernardo (21) and  Ginelio Da Silva  (22) as the recipients of the  2022 All Star Projects Program . Through this program the young emerging creatives received tools in assisting to create their next by executing two concepts of their desired disciplines in Cape Town and Pretoria. Converse is passionate about supporting young emerging creatives and have created a global  accelerator program that invests in directly supporting the All-Star communities who are passionate about growing their creative disciplines in music, art, sustainability, fashion and sport, and constantly breaking boundaries through their next . After the global announcement last year, Converse South Africa received applications from these young emerging creatives in Mzansi and after meticulous rounds of deliberating, ultimately selected Thato Chosa Ché Bernardo (21)