It looks like Converse has a rather fascinating new footwear series. What’s unique about them is that they’re UV activated shoes — sneakers, to be exact. In fact, the company (now owned by Nike) has teamed up with the Chinatown Market to pull off this feat. And what have they got? It’s Converse shoes that’s color changing! So, it’s just quite reasonable they called the thing the “UV Chuck 70” collection.
Do you know the kind of design they’ve chosen for the sneakers? It’s the classic Chuck Taylor All-Star look. You can see all that All-Star rubber sole, the star emblem, toe cap that’s smooth and rounded, and of course, the strip that wraps around the shoe.
Converse partnered with the Chinatown Market. They’re making UV activated sneakers.
Now, the canvas starts as white. The cool part? When direct sunlight hits it, it turns into sneakers of all sorts of color: orange, blue, purple and fuschia. Nicely put together, it looks like you have two pairs of shoes instead of just one!
Here’s a peek into the color-changing Converse shoes:
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“An excellent canvas to work on”
Mike Cherman of Chinatown Market, co-creator of the shoes, once spoke at Sneaker News about the awesome invention. For a person like him who is fascinated at customization, the Chuck Taylors has given him an excellent ‘canvas’ he could work on.
Says Cherman:
“I love shoes like this because I can do whatever I want to them and have so much fun with them. That truly is the core of why it’s so fun to work with Converse. We have this shoe that you can do anything with. It’s made of cotton canvas, one of the most malleable materials in the game, and it’s great to be able to play with that.”
The Chinatown Market official says it’s “more than just a shoe.”
Now the UV activated Converse shoes can interact with the environment where it’s on and of course, with the user. To Mike Cherman, this is the coolest part of the whole feat. He further states:
“It makes the shoe more than just a shoe. It’s a conversation piece, something that’s unique to the wearer. These hues change in their own way, and some colors will last longer while others will last for a shorter time period. It’s the beauty of the shoes: how unique they are.”
“I think the biggest thing in communicating this project is that a lot of the product images show UV light, and a lot of people might not immediately understand what UV-activated means. It’s as simple as the sun. All you need is sunlight for these shoes to change colors.”
“That’s what’s so beautiful about it. You don’t need any special tech, you don’t have to be able to draw. It’s not like we just gave you a box of markers and said: ‘now you have to make your own cool shoe.’ It’s truly packaged with the punch of its special features. No gimmicks necessary. It changes with you.”
“You go to a music festival, the shoes are all bright and crazy in the sunlight, and the moment you step inside a tent, they go back to their pastel base and are different. That’s what’s so fun.”
So, here’s how people have reacted to the colorful and fun sneakers:
Source: The Chinatown Market