By Mao Shan Wang

I have always considered Converse a conservative shoe brand. Sure, since Nike bought the company in 2003, it has seen some semblance of innovation, such as the use of Nike’s Lunarlon sole, or when collaborating with the likes of Clot (the Fastbreak!), but for the most part, it too canvas, too school shoes for me, and too Chuck Taylor. Until this pair of boots popped up in my radar!

Mind you, this is all-new, which means it’s designed from the ground up. Converse releasing rather go-go era looking boots is, it course, reflective of the cross-category tendencies of fashion labels these days (Prada doing plimsolls, for example) and is not, I suppose, too far off from Kim Kardashian selling emojies: Because they can. We are, after all, living in an era of anything-goes—do whatever pleases you.

Back to the boots. This, known as All Star GR82, is quite a chunk of a shoe, augmented by the thick mid-sole and the block heel. Contrast black laces lay between Velcro-fastened straps (as those seen on the Nike Free Huarache Carnivore SP). There’s a whiff of the military, with a fierceness that wouldn’t look out of place in a ’60s-themed party that so typifies corporate D&Ds. I urge: Let not footwear be an afterthought.

No news yet from Converse stores here if the All Star GR82 will be releases locally. For the time being, you can find it for USD110 on Nike.com. Photo: Converse