Hasta La Ideas

Three sneakers reference Nike’s Space Hippie effort, but remain true to their iconic silhouette

The 100-year-old Chuck Taylor All Star remains not only Converse‘s most popular offering, but also one of the most universally recognizable sneakers. The brand’s desire to develop the shoe with more sustainable materials could have comprised the classic style, but designers decided to “preserve the DNA of the world’s most iconic sneaker”—a brief that seems simple at first, but proves more difficult as you attempt to reimagine the design with all-new materials. Their efforts leverage the Space Hippie toolkit developed by parent company Nike and manifest as three colorways of the new Chuck Taylor All Star Crater, available to order tomorrow. We’ve been wearing a pair for the last week and enjoy them even more than the originals.

These three new releases retain the toe-cap, foxing tap and pinstripe, and remain similar in look and feel to the Chuck Taylor’s canvas iteration. Their uppers comprise varying percentages of recycled polyester and recycled post-industrial textile waste scraps and a new eye-row—a stretch of fabric that outlines the laces and their eyelets, made using less material. Best of all, the sneaker sits atop “Crater Foam,” a featherweight and incredibly comfortable sole made from 12% Nike Grind rubber.

At launch, the All Star Crater will be made from 40% recycled source material and its appearance (with speckled patterning and appropriately pieced together components) matches. It’s a welcome addition to Nike and Converse’s roster of releases ushering the companies closer to their Move to Zero goal, an ambitious quest for zero carbon and zero waste.

Images courtesy of Converse