This was how in 1919, for example, a rough surface was added onto the edges of the sole and in the pivot point, the cork insole in 1922, the low-top Ox version in the fifties, the changes in cushioning and seams in the seventies, and the appearance of leather in the eighties and the Lunarlon in the Chuck II.
CONVERSE CHUCK 70, A DENIM REINVENTION
With just over a hundred years of continuous editions, the Converse Chuck Taylor All Star is the sneaker that has been on sale for the longest time, but also the one with the most amount of versions available. In its continuous evolution, the fabrics and shapes have changed to adapt to new needs, but also new construction methods.
As a new way of reinventing the Chuck Taylor, Converse takes the challenge of finding materials for the manufacturing of their items to develop their icons sustainably. The result is the Converse Renew, a strategy that consists of three parallel processes; the Renew Canvas made of recycled plastic, Renew Cotton, which makes use of the residue from manufacturing cotton and the one we’re interested in, which is Renew Denim.
The process started four years ago, as a project created by the Converse Concept Creation Center in which 25 employees were asked to turn in an old item which had sentimental value for them for the research in new fabrics and processes. Many of those items were jeans, a durable garment that we usually associate to past experiences. The process of creating a new product from personal pieces was very interesting but difficult to implement on a medium to large scale, but the Converse Concept Creation Center discovered something.
Used denim was the perfect fabric, a long-lasting product that usually ends up in landfills when they have little to no life left in them. By using a recycling process carried out with the help of the vintage chain stores called Beyond Retro, they created a new line that involves a completely new process. They divide the denim into three types of washes, light, medium and dark to reinforce the final product and from these, they cut them into the panels that make up the Chuck 70 and they place them on top of the classic rubber sole to maintain the same appearance that has turned it into a classic. Each Chuck Taylor is made up of a single pair of jeans, which is why it has an original and incomparable finishing. The plate on the heel of the shoe as well as the inside patch is a nod to its unique process.
Denim has gone from being one of Chuck Taylor’s historical allies to its main manufacturing fabric, maintaining their tight relationship. It’s the reinvention of a classic that keeps the style of the Chuck Taylor 70 with new and inventive manufacturing methods carried out with recycled fabrics.
