- Converse Rubber Shoe Company was created by Marquis Mills Converse in 1908 in Malden, Massachusetts.
- In 1917, the company designed the forerunner of the modern All-Star, marketed under the name "Non-Skids." The shoe was composed of a rubber sole and canvas upper and was designed to be a high-performance athletic shoe for basketball players.
- In 1923, American basketball player Charles "Chuck" Taylor joined a basketball team sponsored by the Converse Company called The Converse All Stars. Taylor held basketball clinics in high schools all over the country and while teaching the fundamentals of the game, he sold the All Star shoes. As a salesman and athlete for the company, Taylor also made improvements to the shoe he loved. His ideas for the shoe were designed to provide enhanced flexibility and support and also incorporated a patch to protect the ankle.
- By the 1960s, Converse began to expand their company and open more factories and by that time, Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars were being worn by ninety percent of professional and college basketball players.
- Throughout the years, Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars made a shift from athletic sportswear to casual footwear
- Originally an elite basketball shoe, the Chuck Taylor All Star evolved into the shoe of choice for many subcultures, particularly artists and musicians.
- Although Chuck Taylor All-Stars vanished from the professional basketball scene completely by 1979, they continued to flourish in popular culture and fashion
- As fashion icons, Chuck Taylors have played a role in several subcultures, and the company has, in turn, promoted this as part of the shoes' cachet.
- Converse has used Chuck Taylor All-Stars to enhance the brand's cultural and subcultural relevance. Chuck Taylor All-Stars proved their continuity throughout the 20th and 21st centuries through their portrayal in film, art, and music culture, as well as through use in sports sub-culture including weightlifting and skateboarding.
The zine is going to be a photo essay that shows the reader the story of the Chuck Taylor throughout the last 100 years and how it has been part of some of the most influential subcultures to date. Before I can start putting the zine together I need the images for each culture that will be featured in the zine. There will be five categories basketball, music, films/celebrities, skateboarding and now - these should give the reader an insight into the subcultural history that surrounds the Converse.
Basketball
This is where it all started for Converse, I want to visually document this era of Converse using archive type images that show the shoes being used in their heyday. I have used both books and Google to source my images for this part of the zine, all the images throughout the zine will be black and white as the final printed version will be done using photocopy which only allows for black and white - which links back to how it would have been made originally.
DR. J ABA All-Star Game 1970s
Oscar Robertson (Big O) - 1965
Wilt Chamberlain - 1957
James VanDerZee (1888-1983) Alpha Phi Alpha Basketball Team
Chuck Taylor (1920s)
Music
Throughout the history of the Converse, the shoe has been worn by everyone especially musicians from the mid-'70s through till today. The amount of musicians that have worn the shoe is very hard to count over the years Converse has been apart of many musical subcultures and this is what has helped make them what they are today. The imagery that I have sourced for this page looks at the huge rocks starts from each decade that has worn the shoe as part of there looking as well as helping to influence future generations.
Elvis Presley (1950s)
Kurt Cobain (1980s)
Ramones (1978)
Robert Plant (1977)
Celebrities / Films
Chuck Taylor has become a staple of popular culture – representative of individual spirit and a sense of quiet accomplishment. Characters who wear Chucks in film and television are often the valiant underdogs – reliable and trustworthy – just like the shoes themselves.
The spread of the zine looks at the presence of Converse in films throughout the last 50 or so years, there are many brilliant blockbusters that the shoes have stared in.
Grease (1978)
Basketball Diaries (1995)
James Dean (1945)
Paul Walker - The Fast and The Furious (2001)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Skateboarding
Since the start of skateboarding in the early '60s, Converse has been part of the "skater" aesthetic. This strong look has never left skaters since and still to this day are skaters around the world rocking the shoe. Skateboarding has been a huge influence on popular fashion over the years and this is probably why Converse still remains so popular today among the skate community and beyond. Within my zine, I will be showcasing how the shoes are still worn today by some of the best skaters around which shows how important the shoe is to the history of the sport and the aesthetic that surrounds it.
Sean Pablo (2017)
Jack Purcell Converse - Polar Skate Team (2016)
Now
Converse now more popular than ever with the likes of Tyler The Creator (rapper) and ASAP Nast (rapper) bringing out there own versions of the shoe shows how desirable the shoe has become with a lot of these shoes either limited or sold out. 2017 was the year for the Converse 70s and One Star with it making a well needed come back by showing how the shoe design is timeless and can be part of any subculture. This last part of the zine explores how high profile collaborations e.g CDG, Yung Lean and Vine Staples have allowed the shoe to find its place in the modern age and they continue to be a timeless shoe that will never die as it is so adaptable to whatever look it wants.
ASAP NAST - "Mid-Century" (2018)
Tyler The Creator - Golf le Fleur (2017)
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