Boston Artists Featured in New Converse Campaign ‘Made by You’
Whether you stuck with the plain black-and-white or invested in custom designs, odds are good that you or at least someone you know has gone through a Converse Chuck Taylor phase.
The iconic shoe—designed almost 100 years ago right here in Massachusetts—manages to bridge the gap between street style and casual Fridays, appealing to everyone from skaters to the Silicon Valley set. Regardless of where they pop up, even if it’s on the feet of some misfits at prom night, all Chuck Taylor wearers send the same message: “I’m a cool kid, even if it’s by not being cool.”
The widespread popularity of the Chuck Taylor has much to do with its easy-to-customize design. Wearers enjoy picking their own designs and then further decorating the shoes themselves, some going so far as to bedazzle their Converse kicks. The company itself puts out special designs every now and then too—see The Boston Shoe.
This spring, Converse is celebrating that sense of individuality in their “Made by You” campaign, which spotlights Chuck Taylors featuring portraits collected from notable people like Andy Warhol, Patti Smith, Futura, Jefferson Hack, Sayo Yoshida, and more.
“‘Made by You’ originated from a simple human truth—we all want to be our true, authentic self in this world,” said Ian Stewart, Converse’s VP of Global Marketing, in a press release. “Fans are the ones who have made Chuck Taylor an iconic badge of creative self-expression. It’s time we celebrated them.”
Converse, which is based in North Andover, is featuring a few locals in the campaign as well, including noted artists Caleb Neelon, Dana Woulfe, Kenji Nakayama, and Eli Reed.
Look for their designs at a T station near you.
