Converse Footwear

Converse All-Star Trainers - an all time design classic

 

The Converse Rubber Shoe Company can trace it's heritage all the way back to 1908. The company was a rubber shoe manufacturer, but it wasn't until 1915 that the company began manufacturing athletic shoes for tennis. The company's main turning point came in 1917 when the Converse All-Star basketball shoe was introduced. Then in 1921, a famous basketball player named Chuck Taylor walked into Converse complaining of sore feet. Converse gave him a job. He worked as a salesman and ambassador, promoting the shoes around the U.S.A, and in 1923 his signature was added to the All Star patch.

 

Widely popular during the 1950s and 1960s, Converse promoted a distinctly American image with its Converse Yearbook, which celebrated Converse's role in the lives of high school and college athletes, and was the essential sports shoe in the 1970s.

 

For decades the Chuck Taylor All Star basketball shoe only came in black, with a white variant released in 1947. Under pressure from basketball teams Converse decided in 1966 to manufacture other colours. Different materials and finishes also began to be used, starting in the 1970s, including leather and suede versions. Besides the traditional high-tops, low-cuts and customised versions were produced.  The Chuck Taylor All Star basketball shoe is an all time design classic, as relevant today as it was ninety years ago.