Converse is making a habit of letting red-hot designers transform its most iconic sneakers from classic to straight-up covetable. The last few years have seen buzzy footwear designed by Off-White’s Virgil
Abloh, Midnight Studios’ Shane Gonzales, JW Anderson’s Jonathan Anderson. And that isn’t even counting the brand’s ongoing Golf Le Fleur partnership with Tyler, the Creator. The iconic footwear back has done it again, this time, teaming up with 7 Moncler Fragment, the luxurious Italian brand’s partnership with the one-of-one designer Hiroshi Fujiwara.
Fujiwara is the man behind Fragment Design, the beloved Japanese label that has been producing in-the-known streetwear and designers for decades. He’s worked with everyone from Nike to Levi’s to Louis Vuitton and is worshiped by fashion’s current crop of movers and shakers. His recent partnership with Moncler pushes the brand’s iconic puffy jackets into artful streetwear with the addition of his signature graphic type treatments and Fragment’s worshiped lighting-bold logo.
Tea in Tokyo With the Godfather of Streetwear
The collaboration with Converse includes two sneakers: the sleek and low-cut Chuck 70 gets dressed up and remixed in both black and white colorways. The Chuck 70 is, of course, the sturdier, vintage-inspired version of the brand’s crown jewel, the Chuck Taylor All-Star. Each shoe features a single-color canvas upper with contrast stitching and covetable Moncler and Fragment Design logos at the heel. It’s just the type of subtle detail that elevates one of Converse’s most worn silhouettes into something that is sure to turn some streetwear-loving heads.
In an era when the wild sneaker still reigns supreme, the fact that Fujiwara has chosen to release a minimalist pair of kicks is just a reminder that the exacting designer has always walked to the beat of his own drum. The Chuck 70 will never go out of style, and Fujiwara's magic touch is just enough to turn these timeless kicks into the kind you can’t wait to wear.
$135, available September 3 via Converse.