CONVERSE REVEALS COLLABORATIVE STYLE WITH RICK OWENS

by Stephen Garner

Converse has revealed its new collaborative sneaker style with designer Rick Owens.

For this project, Rick Owens distorted Converse’s iconic Weapon style – giving the shoe Owen’s signature DRKSHDW treatment.  

Owens pulled the Converse Weapon out of the ‘80s archive and into another dimension with exaggerated proportions and distorted lines. Called the ”TURBOWPN,” the sneaker is elevated through Owens’ minimalist yet maximalist footwear aesthetic.

Exaggerating both the upper and tooling, his signature touch augments the familiar lines (the Y-bar and heel cap) and the shoe is made bombastic. “When I discovered how powerful just oversizing something a little bit was, which I’ve done with a lot of my clothes, that became one of my tools,” Owens said.

The shoe features an elongated tongue, mirroring the TURBODRK Chuck 70. The Weapon’s outsole is nearly doubled in the TURBOWPN, forming a platform-like stance. Within, the TURBOWPN houses a CX foam drop-in and subtly reinforced toe box.

The original Converse Weapon debuted on the NBA court nearly 40 years ago, was reimagined by the brand in June, and today, Owens brings the Weapon into his stark universe, complete with DRKSHDW iconography while maintaining silhouette’s notable markers and remaining reflective of the original. 

The Converse x DRKSHDW TURBOWPN will be available globally on August 31st at converse.com, rickowens.eu, Rick Owens shops, and select retailers.