By: Jing Yang, contributing intern (@jing5233) Converse All Star has released its new limited edition sneakers, and as soon as it came out, many of my friends, especially men, were excited. If you look at the new edition’s appearance, you can barely tell any difference between Converse’s old edition and the new one. However, it is the first time Converse designers made a huge revolution since 1920s. The new limited edition name is All Star Modern, which has better bouncing ability and lighter weight. Unlike the traditional classic rubber soles, Converse’s designers combined Phylon outsole cushioning skill with its traditional design to create this new edition. Before being acquired by Nike in 2003, Converse was the first sports brand in the United States. In 1908, Mr. Marquis Mills Converse established Converse Rubber Shoe Company in America, what this company produced were rubber shoe and any shoes related with rubber. Not until 1917, Converse designed its first sports shoes. You can see from the picture that the first edition is very similar to the modern one. At that time, sports shoes were not very popular in the United States, ’til 1921 when the first pair of basketball shoes came to birth. On the inner side of this pair of shoes, the star logo appeared. Now comes to Converse’s greatest hero—Chuck Taylor, who sold 60 million pairs of shoes for Converse. In 1934, Taylor’s name was printed on Converse logo. In 1936, Converse designed a special edition for American Basketball National Team to join Olympic game hold in that year. The American National Team who wore Chunk Taylor All Star won 63 times constantly, and got seven gold medals. Moreover, Chamberlain created a record of getting 100 points in a single game. At that time, soles were not the significant element to determine the consequence of basketball games. In recent years, Converse became popular among fashion icons again. A pair of Converse can be suitable for many different dressing styles. Photo credit: Converse
