Converse is an American shoe company that primarily produces skating shoes and lifestyle brand footwear and apparel. Founded in 1908, it has been a subsidiary of Nike, Inc. since 2003.
2012 Chuck Taylor All-Stars Gorillaz Spring Collection
On November 28 2011, Freshness Mag published an article about an upcoming partnership with Converse and Gorillaz co-creator, Jamie Hewlett to coincide with the release of the band's 10th anniversary retrospective album, The Singles Collection 2001-2011. [1] As part of the collaborative project, Jamie created four custom Chuck Taylor designs. Further details regarding the collection would later be released on Nike's official website in February 2012; unveiling the official name of the collection (Chuck Taylor All-Stars Gorillaz Collection), the first preview images of the additional three out of four designs in the collection, as well as new information expanding upon the partnership. Converse announced the collaboration between Gorillaz, André 3000, and James Murphy for the company's "Three Artists One Song" series to further promote the launch of the collection. [2]
For three days in the Fall of 2011, Damon Albarn, André 3000 and James Murphy produced and recorded DoYaThing in Damon's London studio. Once the track was finished, Jamie Hewlett and a production team filmed the music video in Jamie's (at the time) London apartment.
In the days leading up to the February 23, 2012 release date, a viral marketing campaign was launched called, #DoYaThing, in which bumper stickers and flyers were distributed.
On February 23 2012 (February 24 in GMT+8), a block party was also held at Sup Clothing in Singapore to celebrate the release of the collection.
Designs
2-D's Camo Shoes
2-D's Camo Shoes are a pair of high top Chuck Taylors. They were also the first design in the collection unveiled to the public. The exterior is adorned with the splinter camouflage patterns featured on the Geep used in the music video, 19-2000. The interior of the sneakers are lined with a collage of character concept art drawn by Jamie during Phase 2. The concept art collage would also be used as the exterior design for other Chucks in the collection.
Pazuzu Design
The Pazuzu Shoes are a pair of high top Chuck Taylors adorned with a stylized design of Pazuzu in white above a heavily stylized nondescript military ranking insignia; consisting of three Ws, a chevron, and a diamond all in dark red.
Concept Art Design
The Concept Art Shoes are a pair of Chuck Taylors printed with a collage of Gorillaz concept art drawn by Jamie during Phase 1 and 2. The designs came in three different variations: low-top, high-top, and woman's sneakers (the fourth of the four Chuck Taylor designs).
Concept Art Design (Women's Sneaker)
This version of the Concept Art design Chuck Taylor is only available as a women's sneaker. To differentiate from the high and low top variations, the women's sneaker version featured the artwork in colored ink; similar to the originally released artwork that the shoes design borrowed from. The sneaker also featured concept drawings that were previously not depicted on the high/low tops.
2012 Chuck Taylor All-Stars Gorillaz Fall Collection
Coming Soon
Gallery
Trivia
- The band have been shown wearing shoes similar to Converse through the years in multiple pieces of artwork with various parodies of the "All Star" logo.
- Noodle has a Converse All Star logo sticker on the wheel of her tricycle.
References
- ↑ Freshness. "Gorillaz x CONVERSE Chuck Taylor All Star". freshnessmag.com. Freshness Mag. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
- ↑ Gulla, Keith "Converse Unveils Spring 2012 Footwear Collection With Virtual Band Gorillaz". nike.com. Nike News. Retrieved 9 February 2012.