Converse announced their collaboration with Tokyo-based street culture icon, Hiroshi Fujiwara, to create the converse CONS CTS fragment design collection.
The collaboration is the first chapter of the partnership between the two brands and the artist. The designs are true to the original, with the classic rubber base with a stripe down the center and the classic silhouette that the world has come to know and love. However, the shoes are outfitted with the toughness that CONS are known for. The canvas comes in black, parchment, and navy, each with contrast white stitching and nickel hardware. Two other designs feature gold and silver metallic stripes with matching hardware. The sneakers will also be outfitted in CONS skateboarding gear, such as the drop-in Lunarlon sockliners, memory foam padding, and traction rubber outsoles.
The collection will be available in select retail locations September 10, 2015 in Asia, and worldwide on September 11, 2015. Converse began in 1908 as a rubber shoe company specializing in galoshes. Soon after, they started using their rubber to make sneakers. In 1920, they renamed their canvas basketball sneaker the “All Star.” The name stuck.
“I love the classic Converse silhouettes,” says Hiroshi Fujiwara, “I wanted to put my mark on a legendary sneaker, keeping its simplicity but adding my own aesthetic. This is just the beginning.”