Converse 2020

On June 5, Tremaine Emory, the artist-merchant, creative director and style oracle behind Denim Tears, went off script in an Instagram post. He revealed a pair of Chuck Taylors he designed for a forthcoming Black History Month collaboration with Converse. Covered in red, green and black stars-and-stripes, the sneakers were inspired by the artist David Hammons’ “African-American Flag.” In the wake of the massive protest movement triggered by George Floyd’s killing, Emory imposed a series of conditions on their release. He made it clear that if Converse’s parent company, Nike, wanted to move ahead, it would need to join the movement in a meaningful way: to use its institutional weight to back real reform, including boosting diversity in leadership and supporting efforts to defund police departments across America. (gq.com)

This video covers a conversation between Emory and the conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas, to help explain and unpack the meaning and the inspiration behind the streetwear shoe - which became a symbol of using ones influence to incite change