Converse sprints down memory lane with a new collection of footwear. AXN celebrates the brand’s 100-year anniversary.

From its iconic logo to its streamline fit, the Converse shoe has survived the test of time, caressing the soles of many a young fashionista’s feet along the way.

In 1908, Marquis Mills Converse started the ‘Converse Rubber Shoe Company’, with no inkling that it would eventually become a fashion icon in over 160 countries.

Converse Inc became the go-to brand for athletic shoes, especially for basketball and tennis. Converse also designed army boots in the 1940s, and the world-famous Chuck Taylor All Star shoe – a symbol of rock ’n’ roll and youth culture in the 1950s, of punk rebellion in the 1970s, and of grunge and rock in the 1990s until today.

The Beatles, James Dean, Ellen DeGeneres – you name the star, they’ve worn the shoe that is a star itself.

“We will continue to be the brand that inspires originality for the next 100 years,” said Jack Boys, Converse CEO.

So what’s unique about the 2008 collection?

The Converse Century footwear collection features quirky designs, collaborations and re-issues of classic shoes like the All Star. Most importantly, Converse’s 1HUND(RED) Artists project is selling limited edition designs by 100 international artists to raise money for the Global Fund to help fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in Africa, as part of Converse’s partnership with (PRODUCT) RED.

Launched by U2’s Bono and Bobby Shriver, Chairman of DATA (Debt Aids Trade Africa), part of the proceeds of ‘RED’ items, like Apple Ipods and Motorola phones, go to Africa.

Converse graphic designer Meghan Berckes created a shoe covered entirely in speech bubbles. “My idea began by hand-stitching and painting 100 different, tiny speech bubbles onto the canvas of the shoe,” said Berckes. “With all the urgent issues of our time, such as HIV/AIDS, we all want to get the word out, each in our own way”. AXN

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