Converse, known for their famous “Chuck Taylor” basketball shoes have long served as a paragon of American footwear fashion. From athletes in the ‘70s-’80s to punks and alt rockers in the ‘90s-2000s Converse shoes are known for their versatility of style. Recently, students have taken to personalizing their sneakers as a show of individuality.
“They’re kinda like a blank canvas you know?” sophomore Christopher Young Jr. said. “They can represent whatever you want, whatever you’re into, just a jack of all trades I guess.”
Young, member of the art club and rock music enthusiast, covered his sneakers in a variety of slogans representing the punk movement, headlined by bands like The Sex Pistols, Dead Kennedys and Minor Threat.
“People who know me, know I love rock and stuff,” Young said. “I guess the writing is a way for people who don’t know me to like, figure it out. It gets a message out there and I can express what I’m about with less restrictions because it’s on my shoes and not a shirt or whatever.”
Some students less rebelliously inclined use the shoe as a way of showing off their other interests or simply visually describing how they feel.
“I guess they say I like nature stuff,” sophomore Sam Lewton said. “The earth tones [colors] and bugs on it, because I like to be out in the forests in nature. The clothes that we wear is like a representation of how we feel. Probably because you picked out that clothing for a specific reason. Like I put beads and drew paws on them. Abstractly that’s what I feel.”
Of course, the corporate eye is not oblivious to these inclinations of youthful creativity. In turn, Nike (the parent company of Converse) has provided official forms of customization through various collaborations. Artists like Tyler the Creator have partnered with the shoe brand as well as high fashion entities like Commes de Garcon and Rick Owens, even famous children’s properties like the film “Coraline” have made merchandise for Converse.
Junior Paisley Thomas owns 14 pairs of the canvas sneakers, most of which she decorated out of the box.
“I own a lot of Converse and they all have kind of the same neutral tone and theme,” Thomas said. “So with these ones I wanted to go kind of crazy. I added red, which I don’t have in any other shoes. And I liked that even if you can’t see Tom and Jerry at first glance, you can tell that they’re different from any other pair of shoes that I have.
“I think self expression is really important. I feel like if you can go around dressing the way you want and being able to customize your character the way you want, it makes school more enjoyable. Also, you find people that have similar styles and tastes and you find certain things in common, whether that’s jewelry, sneakers or whatever.”
