Sabbath, Weapon, Combat… Converse has declared war on lameness

What is this that stands before me?

(Actually, it — well, a pair of sneakers — sits darkly on a pedestal.)

Figure in black which points at me.

(Black it is, alright… and it seems to be calling my name.)

Turn around quick and start to run.

(While wearing those sneakers, running would be a cinch. Skateboarding, too.)

Find out I’m the chosen one…

Well, I choose to wear a pair from the Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Black Sabbath collection, to cap off a week that is Sabbath-heavy, to say the least: finding Sabbath biographies at Book Sale in Greenhills, getting ’70s pressings of “Paranoid” and “Vol. 4” at Vinyl Dump in Cubao X courtesy of owner Joel Devicais, and generally sitting in the house during electric funeral weekends just listening to Ozzy Osbourne talk about fairies in boots, the hand of doom, and a few of his favorite things.

And now seeing pairs of premium Chucks festooned with iconic Black Sabbath images: the war-freaky pig brandishing a sword (from “Paranoid”) as well as the watermill witch standing eerily beside the Thames (from the self-titled debut). There are more incarnations of the Converse X Black Sabbath collaboration, I will soon learn, such as “Never Say Die” and “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” designed by acclaimed illustrator Drew Struzan, as well as iconic live photography.

We are at the Converse fall 2014 preview at the Events Hall in Ortigas and we see lots of sneaker, bloody-good sneakers — from All-Star and Jack Purcell sneakers to Cons sneakers and apparel. Designs by John Varvatos (All Star Multi-Eyelet, One Star) also abound.

“Our ‘What Would Sneakers Do?’ campaign is all about self-expression,” explains Converse Philippines marketing manager Kate Oliva. Rightly so, the space for the fall preview is curated in a way that the sneakers are grouped into each radically expressive, respective corner. (Put on a pair of Chucks, match them with skinny jeans and shirts with your own graphic design, ditch the herd, and become who you really are.)

The Chuck Taylor All Star area has Chucks of all kind.

Converse Philippines’ Clark Castronuevo holds up the Tri Zip and Back Zip sneakers. He talks about the ’70s Woven line. He shows us the waterproof Rubber Chucks in red, yellow, black and white. There is even a pair with trippy guitar strap artwork. 

“This was launched last summer,” Clark says, pointing out the updated colors and prints. He holds aloft the Combat Boot (next to the Sabbath collection, this bad boy is the next must-have.)

“In the 1940s, Converse sponsored the US Army by creating military boots,” he explains. The sneakers — a shout-out to that era — have rubberized toe and heel. Solely covered in black, each pair is armed so to speak with a double overlay eye row, larger opened collar, tongue zipper and extra-long laces. Those would be great with Viktor jeans in army green or something similar. 

We move to the next corner: the Cons.

The Converse Remastered Cons Weapon is a tribute to the legendary rivalry and friendship in the ’80s between Earvin “Magic” Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers and Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics, two NBA Hall of Famers and Dream Team co-captains. “Choose your Weapon!” was the classic line in their Cons ad. Yes, the updated Weapon has a pair in Spurs colors — aside from the iconic Bird and Magic color schemes.

There is even a Cons Weapon Skate, which comes with elevated skateboarding functional designs. It boasts a drop-in Lunarlon sock-liners, which provide light and plush cushioning and a mesh underlay on hallmark Star Chevron — all for the mighty purpose of breathability. We learn from Clark that the sneakers have the Cons Traction Rubber with perforated memory foam to improve grip and durability. “If you’re a skater, these sneakers really absorb shock — for your landing tricks,” says Clark.

The Jack Purcell collection, Kate reminds us, is more for the thinkers, those who tinker with details — that’s why an ingeniously constructed mind map decorates the corner punctuated with the Converse Jack Purcell Cross Stitch, the Mid, the Split Tongue and other cool sneaks. Can be worn by rockers, too — yeah! If you’re the Brian Eno or Robert Fripp type. And you don’t want to bang your head too hard.

Or be snow-blind like Ozzy.

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Converse’s latest collection is available at leading malls nationwide.