Shai's Techy Zip-Up Sneaker Begins Converse Basketball's New Era
Shai Gilgeous Alexander has been planning the look and feel of his first signature shoe since long before he became the creative director of Converse Basketball in 2024. In fact, he’s been sketching variations of his debut basketball sneaker, the SHAI 001, for a lifetime.
“I've been sketching my whole life. That was one of my hobbies as a kid,” says Shai in an online press meeting.
“And then I [practiced] a variation [of the sketches] throughout the years. Once I knew I was going to be able to have that imprint on a basketball shoe, I did some research...[on] shape and form. And then I put it together in a sketch and kept working on it until I got to a product that I liked, and thought was presentable to show to the group.”
What he presented to the Converse team wasn't your typical first draft, it was a fleshed-out concept for a sneaker.
In fact, it was so detailed it surprised Steven Keating, global senior creative director of footwear at Converse: “I’ve been working with top athletes for 20 years in this field, and I’ve never met an athlete that can sketch like Shai,” he says.
From those sketches, the Shai 001 was developed. A performance basketball shoe, it has the futuristic look of a cutting-edge design.
A puffy shroud covers the top of the shoe, featuring a zip allowing its fit to be adjusted and a molded padding for comfort. Meanwhile, in the sole, there is a Nike Zoom airbag in the forefoot and a radial traction pattern on the outsole.
“[Shai is] extremely dynamic, extremely agile on court. The start-stop, all of that was part of our thought process as we started engineering this outsole,” says Keating. “[We] engineered a traction pattern that's specifically designed for Shai’s style of play.”
Set to launch in the fall, the SHAI 001 utilizes all the technology available in-house, both from Converse and its parent company Nike.
This is the pinnacle of Converse’s basketball technology, marking its new era under the creative direction of Shai. However, it’s also the first signature sneaker for one of the NBA’s best-dressed players, and there’s no way Shai was going to release a shoe unbefitting to his personal style.
With its sleek, zippered design, the SHAI 001 has a futuristic minimalism reminiscent of A-COLD-WALL*’s forward-thinking Converse collaborations. And the monochrome “butter” colorway only adds to its sleekness.
Shai says he’s been experimenting with how the samples look with different outfits. Beyond the court, don’t be surprised to see this shoe feature in some of the basketballer's much-lauded tunnel ‘fits.
