Retail store Beauty & Youth presents a new collaborative sneaker along with the Converse by Jack Purcell line. Available in two colorways, the low-top sneaker features the standard white Converse toe-cap, a simple canvas silhouette and Beauty & Youth branding on the in-sole. The shoe is online now but will release to customers starting next month.

Converse x Beauty & Youth Jack Purcell is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

After a few teasers the last few months, Converse and mastermind JAPAN once again team up to finally drop their latest collaborative shoe. This time around the two reinvent the high-top Jack Purcell model to feature side zips, mastermind JAPAN’s skull and cross bones logo on the heel and “Mastermind” and “Peace & Love” lettering on the toe cap. The star studded sneakers boast a standard black and white colorway, available now at ZOZOVILLA.

Converse x mastermind JAPAN Jack Purcell Sneakers is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

As we near the release of the aformentioned Mackintosh x Converse Jack Purcell collection Jake Davis reintroduces his Test Shots series with the aid of Chris Gibbs of Union Los Angeles. As Union will serve as one of a few retailers for the collaborative shoe it’s fitting to see Chris’ take on “one of the best collaborations to come out in some time”. Union will sees the launch of the Jack Purcells April 22.

Jake Davis Test Shots: Converse x Macintosh Jack Purcell and Newfield Coat is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Converse ushers in the next 12 months with its Chinese New Year 2010 Year of the Tiger Collection. Bold Tiger prints grace the collection that features vibrant colors of red, gold, and orange, the most auspicious colors in Chinese culture. The collection is linked by various adaptations of the tiger face and tiger stripe graphic. The collection is a stylish interpretation of the most important holiday traditions in China.

2010 is referred to as the “Golden Tiger Year,” a highly anticipated year of great zodiac significance since it occurs only once every 60 years. In Chinese culture the tiger is an extremely auspicious and powerful animal. Symbolizing courage, power and strength, the fearless and spirited fighter is revered by the ancient Chinese as a sign that wards off evil. The Converse Year of the Tiger Collection pays homage to this important year featuring product from each of Converse’s original franchises including playful editions of the Jack Purcell, Chuck Taylor All Star, One Star and Weapon 86 shoes.

Further elevating this special collection and 2010, the Year of the Tiger collection will come in special packaging design inspired by the age-old Chinese tradition of the “red envelope” to wish fortune and wealth. With a tiger graphic embossed in gold and black, the Converse shoebox is a modern interpretation of the red envelope.

The Jack Purcell footwear in the collection carries an understated classic vibe, with soft black leather uppers and subtle Chinese New Year accents, such as detailed red taping on the tongue and lining, and the bold, all-over red and black stripes on the inside lining and footbed.

The Triple V low top Velcro strap model features premium soft leather with tiger stripe graphics on inside lining and footbed. The lace version comes in black and dark brown models.

Converse Chinese New Year Jack Purcell is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Images Selectism

Converse Exclusive For ACE Hotel NYC is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

As a fan of both Bruce Springsteen and the mighty Jack Purcell, I used to feel that Converse has always been the one brand that didn’t seem to need any payola or seeded endorsement. Motherfuck an ‘influencer’ whose sole claim to fame is a prolific WordPress habit – Converse was worn by some true legends. The don’t-give-a-fuck shoe for those who secretly do. A lot. I never fully understood the need to labour the point for the brand’s centenary. A few candid or onstage images was all that was needed in lieu of any art directed, megabucks campaigns. Other brands might need to labour-the-point, but it was a little moot for the All Star.

Springsteen is one of the core reasons I truly fell for the Jack Purcell, via the Eric Meola shot promo images for ‘Born To Run’. I guess his anti-sponsorship stance wrote Springsteen out the ad campaign running. Whether the humble Converse shoe was part of the working class schtick is open to debate. Maybe it was a wilful throwback to the bombastic rock n’ roll of the ’50s and early ’60s – an everyman prop amid a costly ego-fuelled realm of platform footwear vulgarities. I don’t recall him actually wearing the Purcell – the image of Bruce guitar-riffed into my psyche wears leather footwear.

Looking back at the shoe’s prominance in Sony’s marketing campaign for ‘Born To Run’, after the slow burn of Bruce’s early work, the compressed epic sound of this album was highly anticipated, and a fair amount of money seemed to be spent on photography, with a little set aside for some some nifty little promo nik-naks – many based around those Converse shoes, including a badge and tiny metal keyring (both using the rare ‘graffiti font’ lettering for the LP). Recently, we at Crooked had an interesting chat with Mr Andrew Bunney surrounding the All Star’s status in the UK.

We pondered as to how many icons from these shores were wearing the real thing back in the day. Or were knockoffs immediately associated with Converse? In the design’s pre-Chuck signature days, the All Star wasn’t too dissimilar to rival (and equally pioneering) basketball designs from the likes of Keds, and throughout its lifetime, it’s not been the only rubber-toed canvas design in that vein. Is Sid wearing the real thing, or did he grab a pair of cheap and cheerful baseball boots and spend the rest on gear of the other kind? Growing up, Levi’s baseball boots and fold-down vulcanized Hi-Tec ‘homages’ were epidemic at my middle school. Round my way, Converses weren’t especially cheap or ubiquitous on the high streets, and I’m reliably informed that in Britain the previous decade, a canvas lookalike would be an easier find – ones that could easily have passed for All Stars without close inspection.

That’s one thing, but on looking at outtakes from Eric’s ‘Jack Purcell’ guitar shot, taken in June 1975, closer inspection reveals an ‘imposter’ as part of the mismatched pair. I’d clocked that there was, what seemed to be an All Star low behind that Purcell a long time ago, but it transpires that the rear shoe carried 3-Stripes. While the full rubber toe isn’t like that of the adidas Nizza as we currently know it, having peeped some early Nizza examples, there were some fuller rubber toed versions in the shoe’s early days. I’m open to correction though. I like adidas’s take on the canvas shoe craze a lot, but I can’t help but feel a little bit cheated by this discovery.

I appreciate that I’m probably alone in this opinion.

Bruce Springsteen’s Converses is a post from: SLAMXHYPE