Sneakers

Today, Converse Inc. announced its all-new collection with avant-garde French fashion house Maison Martin Margiela. The first-time Converse Maison Martin Margiela collaboration features the Chuck Taylor All Star and the Jack Purcell sneakers, each completely hand-painted in Maison Martin Margiela’s iconic white paint. Covering all canvas, eyelets, laces and soles, they naturally crack and shed their outer coat of paint to reveal the original colors beneath.

Founded in 1988, Maison Martin Margiela is a fashion house which has always followed its own path, often outside the conventional fashion framework. Maison Martin Margiela’s collections are known for reinventing volumes, modifying shapes, and changing the original use and movement of garments, derailing the classic notions of fashion. Through recycling, transformation and reinterpretation, their identity aligns perfectly with Converse‘s philosophy of being a platform for creativity. 

The personality of the Converse Maison Martin Margiela 1970s Chuck Taylor All Star and Jack Purcell sneakers is discovered through an evolving dialogue between the bold colored canvas and clean paint. The more the sneakers are worn, the more their personality and color is revealed. “The Maison has always been obsessed with white; it is used as a layer to give an incognito feeling. A sort of poetry, with the passage of time, the shoe asserts itself,” says Maison Martin Margiela.

The styles are available in four color ways based on heritage colors from the Converse archives: red, black, navy, and Margiela-exclusive vintage yellow, and are lined in premium off-white leather.

The Converse Maison Martin Margiela sneakers will be available for purchase globally this month at Margiela stores, and at select Converse First String retailers for a suggested retail is $200.