Don't Hate! CDG PLAY's Converse "Heart Shoes" Still Beat 15 Years On
COMME des GARÇONS PLAY's Converse Chuck 70 sneaker is turning 15 this year and bringing back the original sneakers from 2009, infamously known as the "heart shoes."
Yes, my blood pressure also rises anytime someone tells me that the Converse heart shoes are the most cherished piece they own from COMME des GARÇONS. However, it does makes sense.
That's because, by design, COMME des GARÇONS PLAY is a diffusion line that offers the most basic clothes within Rei Kawakubo's vast CDG empire.
CDG PLAY is like the Fear of God ESSENTIALS of avant-garde Japanese fashion because it consistently offers affordable, logo-driven, COMME des GARÇONS apparel. And that heart logo is so popular that Canal Street bootleggers are still turning it into Airpod cases and Crocs Jibbetz.
So yes, it's easy for anyone with even the most entry-level taste in high fashion to lampoon someone for wearing heart smeakers.
But the 15th anniversary of COMME des GARÇONS PLAY's Converse is opening a soft spot in my heart. Because when I look at these CDG PLAY Converse shoes again, it's making me feel like the snobby hate over heart sneakers has always been unwarranted.
Whether you love them or hate them, CDG PLAY heart shoes are undeniably the most omnipresent fashion collaboration offered by Converse. It's embraced by both gym bros and sneaker gawds like Travis Scott.
And since its debut in 2009, CDG Play has produced over 20 different iterations of its heart shoes across several different Converse silhouettes.
That only shows it a core sneaker that's a staple for the brand and brings in tons of consistent revenue that likely helps funds COMME des GARÇONS more ambitious lines.
So anyone who was heartbroken about not picking up a pair of these CDG PLAY Chuck 70s when it was originally released in the late-2000s can now buy them on July 11 at Dover Street Market and at select retail partners for $150. Better yet, it will also be offered in kids’ sizes for the first time. Isn't that heartwarming?
