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Converse is an American brand of lifestyle wear that markets, and distributes, lifestyle brand footwear.

Founded in 1908, it has been a subsidiary of Nike, Inc. since 2003. Converse, initially known as the Converse Rubber Shoe Company, produced winterized rubber-soled shoes and boots.As of 2019, Converse sold products through 109 company-owned retail stores in the United States and 63 stores in international markets. The growth of Converse as a casual fashion accessory contributed to $1.7 billion in revenue in 2014 and $2 billion in 2015.

In 1986, Converse released “The Weapon” basketball shoe. Manufactured in two color schemes to match the kit colors of basketball teams, it has been available in both high-top and low-cut varieties. It had leather construction throughout, including the inside heel which was also heavily padded for comfort. The first endorsers of “The Weapon” were Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, who were prominently featured in a Converse commercial set in Bird’s hometown of French Lick, Indiana in 1985. They were also worn by Axl Rose in the Guns N’ Roses music video “Estranged“.

Converse re-released “The Weapon” classic (which Kobe Bryant wore at least three times in 2002 and Andre Miller wore in 2002 from mid-August to early September) several times from 1999 to 2003 and after, “The Loaded Weapon” in 2003, “The Weapon 86” in 2008 (and the Poorman version in 2009, and the John Varvatos version in 2012), “The Weapon EVO” in 2009, and its successor “The Star Player EVO” (sometimes reduced to “The Star Plyr EVO” or “The Star Ply EVO”) in 2010

Several special editions of Converse shoes have been made, including DC Comics, Super Mario, Pink Floyd, AC/DC, Metallica, The Ramones, The Clash, Dr. Seuss, Sailor Jerry, Grateful Dead, Ozzy Osbourne, Jimi Hendrix, Miley Cyrus, Drew Brophy, Nirvana, Bad Meets Evil, Green Day, Gorillaz, Matt and Kim, The Who. Additionally, Converse have made an appearance in over 650 films, such as Back to the Future, I, Robot, Grease and Stand by Me.

David Tennant (playing the Tenth Doctor) wore a variety of Hi-top Converse on the science-fiction show Doctor Who, including red and cream versions. In July 2018, Converse teamed up with BT21, a millennial pop character created by South Korean hip-hop group BTS, to launch the special collaboration line of Chuck Taylor All-Stars featuring the illustrations of BT21 characters; it’s currently available in limited quantities in Asia.

Sponsorship

In 2019, Converse returned to the performance basketball scene with the All-Star Pro BB. Kelly Oubre Jr. was the first player to try out the new product, which combined the traditional Converse silhouette with contemporary Nike technology. Thereafter Converse signed more players: Draymond Green in March 2020, Natasha Cloud (the first WNBA player) in June 2020, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in July 2020, and, more recently, Rudy Gay, P. J. Tucker, DeAndre’ Bembry, De’Anthony Melton, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Immanuel Quickley, Deividas Sirvydis, Jordan Clarkson, Josh Richardson, David Duke Jr., Brandon Williams.