After almost 100 years of selling its signature kicks, Boston-based shoe company Converse Inc. has taken its most significant step in modernizing its much-cherished Chuck Taylor All Stars. “We listened and took it to heart that people love their Chucks and want sneakers that are built to enable them to do more”.
Advertisement
Click through the slideshow below to explore all the new Chuck II styles. The first major renovation in its 98-year history, the Chuck II finds the iconic sneaker refitted with a perforated micro-suede liner and a foam padded collar. Established in 1908, the Converse brand has built a reputation as “America’s Original Sports Company”™ and has been associated with a rich heritage of legendary shoes such as the Chuck Taylor® All Star® shoe, the Jack Purcell® shoe and the One Star® shoe. The eyelets in the Chuck II are molded, creating a feeling of greater depth; same thing with the Converse heel patch, which now has three-dimensional letters, instead of just a painted-on logo. The canvas sometimes changes colors, and it’s sold as both a high-top and low-cut, but besides that, the design has virtually gone unchanged for 98 years. But the Chuck II is not a special edition, it’s an update to the original, iconic Chucks.
The new sneakers will be 20 percent lighter than the classic Chuck Taylors, and they will also have more support and be made using a premium canvas.
Although redesigning a product is generally a sign that sales are flagging, that’s not true in the case of the Chuck II.
Yes, you read that right- you see, Nike bought out Converse back in 2003 when the company went bankrupt, so Converse and Nike are actually one and the same.
And if they do, and the Chuck II is a success, who knows?
“But, the insights they gave us were incredible”.
Advertisement
Calling the shoe “ground-breaking”, Converse said in a statement Thursday that the Chuck Taylor All Star II – which is set to hit stores Tuesday – is an update on its classic that is “overflowing with innovative Nike Lunarlon technology to support the always-on creative lifestyle”.
