Converse teams up with queer skateboarder Alexis Sablone for first-ever Pride performance sneaker
Queer skateboarder Alexis Sablone has teamed up with Converse on a new sneaker design. (Converse)
Converse is releasing its first-ever Pride performance sneaker for 2021, which pays homage to the LGBT+ community.
Following the release of its Pride 2021 collection, Converse has teamed up with queer skateboarder Alexis Sablone to create the shoes.
The ’Jack Purcell Pro’ skate sneakers are now available from converse.com and converse.co.uk.
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It sees Converse continue its partnership with LGBT+ artists “to amplify the voices of the community.”
For this Pride 2021 collaboration with Alexis Sablone, the brand is aiming to “carry the spirit of inclusion and well-being within skateboarding.”
The 34-year-old barrier-breaking skateboarder has competed in the X Games a number of times, earning three gold medals, two silver and one bronze since 2009.
Sablone has redesigned her favourite sneakers to skate in – the JP Pro Mids – for the brand’s first pro skate Pride silhouette, which sees her craft a “wearable homage to the queer community.”
The heel features a woven tab in the colours of the inclusive Pride flag. (Converse)
The Pride sneaker’s white leather is embossed with an all-over Lambda pattern as “a message of solidarity.”
Sablone’s reference to Lambda is a nod to the 1970s when the LGBT+ community used the symbol to signal their queerness.
In contrast to the white upper is a woven heel tab in the colours of the inclusive Pride flag, while the sockliner reads “Proud” printed on a light blue lining.
Plus the transgender symbol is embroidered on the tongue against a yellow background which Sablone says is a reminder that “Pride is inclusive of gender identity as much as it is about sexuality.”
It follows up the release of the main Converse Pride collection for 2021 which was unveiled last month.
The 2021 Pride collection features new designs of the Chuck Taylor All Star shoes, t-shirts, slides and more and sees them donate to Ali Forney Center, BAGLY and OUT MetroWest.
The new Converse x Alexis Sablone Pride Jack Purcell Proshoes are available from converse.com and converse.co.uk.
