More about attitude than athletics, Converse, the footwear of choice for outsiders everywhere is celebrating its birthday with special editions of its popular shoes.
What do Larry Byrd, Kurt Cobain & my teenage son have in common? Their choice of footwear!
Happy Birthday, Converse!
Once the shoe of choice for famous basketball players, Converse shoes have for years, been the symbol of edgy anti-consumer consumers, outsiders, punk rockers, and anti-prep teenage boys. The shoe of athletes and alternatives is helping Converse celebrate its 100 birthday. Converse will be bringing out special editions of the All Star and the Black Fives models to celebrate the anniversary of the rubber soled work shoe first designed by Marquis Mills Converse in Boston in 1908.
Special Issue Shoes for Collectors
The special issue will include a $200 version of the Black Fives, the brown leather classic worn by the legendary Harlem Renaissance basket ball team in the 1930’s. Also available will be an anniversary issue of the All Stars. These shoes are a tribute to the memory of Chuck Taylor, a player and salesman who sold the original All Star High Tops out of the trunk of his car.
Kurt Cobain’s Shoes for the Disenfranchised
Due out in May 2008, is a series of All Stars and One Stars with a facsimile Cobain signature, accompanied by excerpts such as “punk rock means freedom” taken from Cobain’s journals. The new Cobain Converse will sell for between $50-$65. Converse (which was purchased by Nike in 2003) expects the shoes to be purchased (but never worn) by collectors.
