Rubber meets Canvas meets Paris

The brand of sportswear known globally as Nike may well seem to have been the first big sports brand to have collections of footwear that were celebrity endorsed but in 1984 Nike noticed a talented and young basketball player called Michael Jordan who became brand ambassador for their sports industry. But he was by no means the first celebrity sportsperson to have an endorsement around 60 years earlier Charles “Chuck” Taylor lead the way. Find out more in Rubber meets Canvas meets Paris

For hundreds of years, things like Royal endorsements have helped companies raise their profile but it was really only in the 20th century that clothing, beauty, scent and timepiece companies began to link with high-profile individuals to help heighten a brand.

Marquis Mills Converse founded the now famous Converse Rubber Shoe Company in 1908 in Massachusetts USA. In 1917 it designed the forerunner of the modern All-Star shoe that it marketed under the name of “Non-Skids”. The shoe was composed of a rubber sole and canvas upper and was designed for basketball players.

But it was in 1921, when Charles “Chuck” Taylor, an American semi-professional basketball player, joined Converse as a salesman, that the brand began to blossom

Within a year of Taylor’s arrival, the company had adopted his ideas for improvements to the shoe’s design to enhance its flexibility and ankle support. The restyled shoe also incorporated a distinctive All-Star logo on the circular patch that protected the ankle. After Taylor’s signature was added to the ankle patch as his endorsement, they became known as Chuck Taylor All Stars, the first celebrity-endorsed athletic shoe.

To promote sales of Converse All Star shoes to basketball players, Taylor held basketball clinics in high school and college gyms and YMCAs all across the United States and taught the fundamentals of the game.

During the 1926–27 season, Taylor also served as player-manager of the company-sponsored basketball team called the Converse All Stars. The Chicago-based touring team was established to promote sales of the company’s All Star basketball shoes.

Numerous professional basketball players were soon wearing All Stars. Converse All Stars were the official shoe of the Olympics from 1936 to 1968. During World War II All Stars were the official athletic training shoes of the U.S. armed forces.

While Converse dominated the U.S. basketball shoe market from the 1920s until the 1970s, it began to struggle in the late 1970s with Nike eventually acquiring it in 2003.

In between then, the shoe took a different turn. It started to regain cult popularity in the 1980s and 1990s, as teens began to adopt it as a casual, retro style and so it became a favourite for subcultures, like artists and musicians.

Much has happened over its nearly 100 years of manufacturing and the latest news is that Chic French agnes b has collaborated with Converse on a mini-collection, with a limited edition Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star model customized by the Parisian-based brand.

The French brand’s style can be described as subtle, chic and casual all at once, so it’s the perfect meeting of style. The Agnes b. x Converse model is available in two colours, navy blue or white. The upper of the shoe features agnes b. logo. The laces are white or black, with a spare lace bearing the agnes b. logo and are designed for both men and women.

This simple shoe of canvas and rubber has had an amazing past and its future is looking rather smart too.

To find out more about this collaboration please visit agnesb.co.uk

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.Cent Magazine, London Be Inspired; Get Involved