Available Next Week.
Having only recently come together for an array of 2022 releases, heritage footwear brand Converse and Rick Owens’ DRKSHDW sub-label have reunited for two new footwear releases.
Teaming up for a new TURBODRK Chuck 70, as well as a re-release of the widely-popular TURBOWPN, Converse and Rick Owens DRKSHDW continue to push the needle with disruptive everyday footwear, channeling Owens’ classic minimalist yet maximalist design ethos. Channeling a joint appreciation for music, Converse and Rick Owens DRKSHDW bring in the legendary ambassador of New Orleans Bounce music, known as Big Freedia, for this campaign, while Rick himself has curated a playlist to drop alongside the release, which he describes as embodying “SCRAPPY TRANSGRESSION.”
Discussing this attachment to music and the way it has inspired this release, Rick Owens stated the following:
“OVER 10 YEARS AGO, I WAS FRUSTRATED THAT THERE WASN’T A SLEAZY DANCE CLUB WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE FROM MY HOUSE IN THE 7TH ARRONDISSEMENT OF PARIS SO I DECIDED TO START ONE MYSELF. I REACHED OUT TO BIG FREEDIA TO COME PERFORM BECAUSE I WAS EXCITED ABOUT THE NEW ENERGY AND ATTITUDE I HEARD COMING FROM THE NEW ORLEANS BOUNCE SCENE…NOW, 10 YEARS LATER I HAVE ASKED HIM TO REPRESENT MY COLLAB WITH CONVERSE TO CELEBRATE HIS ENDURING POWER AND FEROCITY IN AN ALL TOO OFTEN NARROW AND JUDGEMENTAL WORLD…”
Getting into the footwear itself, the TURBODRK Chuck 70 boasts the classic Converse high-top shape and Rick’s signature elongated tongue, a bold zebra-inspired jacquard finish, as well as the typical inclusion of a disruptive square-toe. The TURBOWPN on the other hand opts for a two-tone black and white look and reinterprets the proportions of the legendary Converse Weapon and adds Rick’s abrasive aesthetic, with this pair boasting a thick ridged black and white sole and rich leather elongated tongues.
This newest footwear release between Converse and Rick Owens DRKSHDW will be available to shop via the Converse and Rick Owens websites on January 10th.
Check out campaign imagery below.
PHOTO CREDIT: @Converse/Rick Owens DRKSHDW
