Converse All Stars

The legendary basketball-style canvas shoe is a fashion icon that has proved popular for many generations. The traditional Converse shoe was first manufactured over a century ago, and to date, well over nine hundred million pairs have been sold. So what’s the attraction?

Celebrities and movies have played a large part in the popularity of this type of shoe – Tom Hanks, River Phoenix, Jeff Bridges, Mike Myers, Michael Keaton, Michael J.Fox and Arnold Schwarzenegger have all starred in movies wearing a pair of ‘Converse All Stars’. TV programs including “The Wonder Years” have also ensured the shoe is rarely off the screen. In the cult BBC TV Show “Doctor Who”, the tenth Doctor, David Tennant wore a pair of white Converse with his suit in every episode, a look that was apparently chosen by Tennant himself when working on the clothing for the character.

Converse All Stars, or ‘Chucks’ are a classic American icon that has spread throughout the world. They were first sold in 1917 and amazingly the style and production materials have changed very little since then. They are also a truly unisex shoe, with the vast majority of styles being manufactuered in both male and female sizes.

The construction of the shoe is simple; it’s a rubber sole, with a canvas top. This keeps the price affordable, and means it’s easy to change the top to new colors and designs. It also has the added appeal of being suitable for vegans and vegetarians. With vegetarian shoes now becoming very popular, this market is extremely important to Converse.

The spread of the appeal is immense; in the United Kingdom, Conservative party leader David Cameron was clearly seen wearing a pair of Chucks in a highly publicized photograph. For most fashion brands, this would be the ultimate ‘kiss of death’, but Converse just seems to get bigger and bigger.

Converse was purchased by Nike in 2003 and they have ambitious plans for the future. Recent collaboration with bands such as AC/DC, Pink Floyd, The Who and Blondie have also seen a range of new styles of Converse coming through, which help to widen the appeal even further.

Undoubtedly, the appeal of Converse will tail off to some degree in the future, but when and by how much is not known. One thing that is almost certain is that with the following it has, the long-term prospects for this iconic shoe are extremely good indeed and Converse All Stars will still be worn by generations to come.