2019 marks Batman’s 80th anniversary. To celebrate the caped crusader’s 80th year, Converse released a Batman-inspired line in October of 2019. This line featured four Chuck 70 colorways, two high tops and two low tops. Each colorway featured different scenes, logos, and characters from the Batman comics. The two high tops showed varying images of Batman and Robin fighting crime together, while one of the low tops paid homage to the universe’s most popular villain, the Joker. To continue their Batman-inspired year, Converse will be teaming up in December with popular streetwear brand Chinatown Market to create a special release of Batman-inspired Chuck 70 high tops. Featuring two different colorways, the Batman-inspired designs are appearing on a pair of Chuck 70 high top sneakers. Simply labeled “white” and “black,” the two designs pay homage to various aspects of the Batman universe. While the October releases specifically honored Batman’s history as a comic book character, however, the Chinatown Market shoes seem to be branching out, honoring the Batman franchise as it has appeared across different media over the past 80 years.
The Black colorway features a glow-in-the-dark Gotham city skyline set against a black upper. On one side, the circular Converse Chuck Taylor logo is embossed high on the ankle. On the other side, however, the Bat signal appears as a glow-in-the-dark fixture in the night sky. It’s a brilliantly simple design that highlights one of the most recognizable aspects of the Batman legend. The glow-in-the-dark signal and lighted windows of the city pop against a pure black upper with black laces and a simple white sole.
The White colorway, by contrast, is a bit more busy and a bit more futuristic. The upper features a motley collection of hand-drawn Batman graphics stamped across a white background. Graphics include old-school Batman logos, drawings of recognizable characters like Robin and the Joker, and the Batmobile emerging from the darkness of the Bat Cave. While this definitely gives the shoes a comic-book look, it doesn’t end there. The graphics on the shoe are printed in 3-D, a tribute to Batman’s status as a movie star as well as a comic book hero. 3-D glasses are included with a purchase of the shoe for fans to appreciate this extra feature.
Priced at $100, these shoes drop on December 5th, just in time for the holiday shopping season. Like all Chuck 70 high tops, these are unisex shoes, perfect for Batman fans of any gender. The simple designs and color schemes make these shoes much more realistic to wear with a variety of outfits, colors, and styles, giving them a marketable appeal to a wider consumer base. These shoes will look good on people of any age and gender, which makes this line a decided improvement over the October releases in terms of marketability. While gorgeous and colorful, October’s colorways were definitely designed with a specific fashion aesthetic in mind. The Chinatown Market releases are much more universal, and say a lot for Chinatown Market’s ability to create simple and stylish streetwear designs.
But Chinatown Market isn’t the only interesting collaboration Converse is featuring this holiday season. Converse’s Star Series, its collaboration with Nike designer Tinker Hatfield, is dropping three new colorways for men on December 12th. December 9th will see the release of two new designs from JW Anderson, the Run Star Hike and the Glitter Chuck 70 high top. More exciting still, French streetwear designer Pigalle recently announced that it would be teaming up with Nike and Converse to produce a new basketball collection in 2020. While this collection promises to feature apparel of all kinds, sneakers will definitely be a part of this new line.
