FREE SHIPPING ON ORDERS $50 AND UP! Want to receive more deals? Sign up for our newsletter today. All orders $50 or more*. 100% money back guarantee. 1-800-971-0009 (Mon-Fri 9-4:30PM PST) Converse just launched its new All Star Modern sneaker collection, and included among its many styles is a limited-edition capsule collection called the All Star Modern HTM – a truly landmark moment in custom kicks. Because while Nike purchased Converse back in 2003, this is the very first time its godlike design gurus have created an All Star shoe. For the uninitatied, HTM stands for Hiroshi Fujiwara, Tinker Hatfield, and Mark Parker, a longtime Nike collaborator, their VP of Design, and CEO respectively. Hatfield for one was responsible for the Air Max 1 and generations of Air Jordans, and is therefore akin to Jesus (or at least Yeezus) in the sneaker world. The All Star Modern HTM is also the first shoe they’ve ever designed without the trademark Nike swoosh, Wired reports.

The All Star Modern is one of the lightest shoes Converse has ever made, thanks to the three layer composite upper, which is fused instead of sewn, thermoplastic polyurethane toecap and neoprene split tongue, all signature Nike touches. The HTM "kicks" things up a notch with an upper wrapped in luxe goat leather. All that technology comes with a price tag: while a standard pair of Chucks goes for $55, the Modern line starts at $130 and the HTM editions will cost you a cool $180.adidas and nike running shoesThe Converse Chuck Taylor All Star — formerly just the All Star — has been in constant production since 1917, and has gone virtually unchanged since 1949. best first pair walking shoes babyIts gone from the world's most prevalent basketball sneaker to a lifestyle staple. boat shoes uk buy

It remains beloved both for its history and its simplicity. But there's a lot of backstory behind that canvas sneaker. Check out 50 Things You Didn't Know About Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars.It’s not often a classic gets reinvented twice in as many years. But for a dinosaur of a shoe like the Converse All Star, it just makes sense. Hot on the heels of the Converse All Star II released last year, parent company Nike is reinventing the classic basketball shoe again. adidas womens running shoes saleThis, time, however, the shoe has been completely reinvented and reimagined. new nike golf shoes for saleWhile the All Star II kept the original styling of the All Star, with only tweaks to the styling to update it while making it more comfortable, the All Star Modern, completely changes it up.nike leopard shoes white

The only thing the new shoe really shares in common with is the classic shoe’s iconic silhouette. The Modern is “inspired by” the classic, using Converse’s heritage in a new way “The Converse All Star Modern is a perfect fusion of our sport heritage with modern design,” said Converse creative director and VP Bryan Cioffi in a release. “With this collection, Converse is delivering a comfortable, lightweight product that’s new, exciting and modern, but still feels very Converse.” In the more expensive limited edition version of the shoe, goat leather replaces canvas for an upscale look with the All Star patch embossed on the side. Nike has also made a permanent collection of knit versions of the shoe. Both boast an impressive amount of Nike proprietary technology that makes the shoe breathable, durable, and lightweight. A soft Neoprene tongue was even added for additional comfort. The leather versions come in black and white and retail for $180. They were designed through a collaboration called HTM, that includes Nike CEO Mark Parker, streetwear brand Fragment Design founder Hiroshi Fujiwara, and Nike design legend Tinker Hatfield.

The knit version of the modern comes in black, red, green, and blue for $140 and come in both high and low top. They’re now the most expensive mainline sneakers Converse sells. The release of these shoes shows that Nike is finally trying to modernize the 108-year-old brand by infusing it with the magic that turned the parent company into the world’s most valuable apparel brand and largest athletic apparel company in the US. It’s mixing handsome vintage inspiration with wearable styling and proprietary technology and selling it at a higher — but not unreasonable — price than their usual offerings. The redesigned All Star II’s gained a following when they were released last year to positive reviews. Nike won’t mess with success with these new versions, however. Many customers are very attached to the original Converse All Stars, and these new designs are meant to compliment, not replace those. NOW WATCH: Lululemon founder reveals the huge mistake the company is making

In late July, Boston-based Converse made headlines with news that it was set to release an updated version of the beloved Chuck Taylor All Star sneaker. Since the design of the original All Star had changed very little over the course of its 98-year history, some saw this as the sneaker world equivalent of drawing a mustache on the Mona Lisa. Others were quick to point out that, while certainly iconic, the original shoes didn't offer much in the support department and that a redesign was long overdue. The response at the cash register appeared unanimous, with the two styles (low-top for $70 and high-top for $75) selling out in many sizes online and in stores in the first few days after the July 28 release date (the company expects new stock to land by mid-August) — despite a retail price that clocks in at $20 more than the original (which, for the record, is still being sold, too).The exterior of the sneaker — which comes in black, white, red or blue — hasn't changed much.

The canvas in the upper is described in press materials as "premium," though to the touch it's indistinguishable from standard-issue canvas. Monochrome matte eyelets give the shoes a slightly less cluttered look. The foxing (the white rubber sidewall where the canvas upper meets the sole) is slightly thicker, and the All Star logo patch on the inside heel of the high-top is embroidered instead of printed. The biggest difference with the Chuck Taylor All Star II is under the hood, with the addition of a cushiony, lime-green sock liner made from a proprietary Nike foam called Lunarlon. (Nike has owned the Converse brand since 2003.) There are a few other interior tweaks too — a perforated micro-suede lining to improve breathability and foam padding on the tongue and collar for comfort. But make no mistake, it's that foot-shaped slab of foam, which the company says was added to improve cushioning and arch support, that's the biggest change. And one that needed to be checked out. So over the course of three days I tested a white Oxford-style low-top Chuck Taylor All Star II against a same-color original version of the low-top — side by side, with one on each foot.

The biggest surprise — apart from the fact that not a soul seemed to notice — was how little difference there seemed to be in fit and feel. Sure, the footbed of the II was slightly less flexible, not unexpected given the thickness of the sock liner insert, and each step in the new shoe felt a little more cushioned than a step in the original. But the initial impression was not one that justified the $20 premium. That changed by the end of Day 1 when the Lunarlon-swaddled left foot felt almost as good as it had when I slipped the shoes on that morning, while the right foot shod in the original was beginning to ache in the arch and toe joints. (In all fairness, this tester acknowledges he's both overweight and severely flat-footed.) The test was repeated a second day with the new style on the right foot and the original on the left, with similar results. On the third day — just in case wearing two different shoes was a factor — both feet were shod in new All Star IIs.

The effect was the same as if I'd worn a pair of arch-supporting, foot-cushioning running shoes all day — a marked improvement over the way my feet feel after spending a day in a pair of original All Stars. And that's exactly the point. Long ago, the Chuck Taylor All Star sneaker transcended being simply a piece of athletic equipment to become a style statement. Worn in weddings, on stage during rock concerts, by the famous from all walks (including the Ramones, Kurt Cobain, Michelle Obama, Cate Blanchett), they were the first sneakers that were acceptable to wear beyond purely athletic endeavors. That's easy to forget given the rise of sneaker culture in the early '80s and, more recently, the surfeit of stylish sneakers that have crept in with the athleisure trend. With the Chuck Taylor All Star II, Converse is simply offering a version of its beloved all-purpose shoe that looks just a little bit different on the outside but feels a whole lot different on the inside (which, by the way, probably also describes the target demographic).