Converse’s classic Chuck 70 has been reimagined by the likes of Feng Chen Wang, Tyler the Creator, and Fear Of God’s Jerry Lorenzo, but perhaps none more radically than Rick Owens for the Drkshdw x Converse Turbodrk Chuck 70 collaboration that recently debuted at Paris Men’s Fashion Week. The sartorial rule-breaker had his way with the footwear staple by replacing the curved frontage with his own square-toe bumper while dramatically extending the tongue, nodding to the knee-high Converse once popular among punks. We never thought square-shaped kicks would take off, but the 58-year-old designer’s take on the Nike-owned brand’s classic silhouette makes a compelling case for the unlikely style to finally see the light (or, in this case, dark).
SAM Wong remembers the shoes that started it all. “It was the Nike Zoom Kobe V sneakers,” revealed Wong, an avid sneakerhead, basketball fan, streetwe.
Boston-based imprint Bodega released its
Nike Dunk Hi “Legend” back in December 2020, but it was the Friends and Family edition that really caught the attention of the sneaker aficionados among us. Now, HYPEBEAST can offer a closer look at the highly-limited pair, spotlighting the luxe materials and unique construction elements all around.
Unlike most high-profile collaborations let alone ones in the Dunk sphere the Bodega x Nike Dunk Hi “Legend” F&F was given away for free. Lucky winners were chosen at random, with access obtained via the special sports cards and a voucher that came in one of every 20 boxes of the general-release pair.
Twenty twenty was the year that fashion brands really turned up the heat on the collaborative front. Every label worth its hype points was at it, from Stüssy and Gucci, who teamed up with Our Legacy and The North Face respectively, to Levi’s, who collaborated with just about everyone, from Lego and Super Mario to New Balance and Tyler, The Creator.
None, however, went as big as Converse. The Nike-owned brand not only put out some stellar shoes on its own (check out the platform-soled Run Star Hike), but also teamed up with the likes of Telfar, JW Anderson, Brain Dead, Comme des Garçons, Feng Chen Wang, Fear Of God, Ambush, Golf Le Fleur, A-Cold-Wall , Lay Zhang, Carhartt, Paria Farzaneh, Moncler and Hiroshi Fujiwara. Phew.