A Ma Maniére Puts a Nike Swoosh on the Converse Chuck Taylor All Star for Surprise Collab
Just when it seemed like A Ma Maniére’s and Nike Inc.’s multi-brand “While You Were Sleeping” collection was finished, The Whitaker Group founder James Whitner pulled an ace from his sleeve with the surprise reveal of a seventh sneaker.
Gifted to friends and family in London at a dinner celebration for the launch of the “While You Were Sleeping” film is a dual-branded Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star 70 sneaker adorned with Swoosh logos on its lateral sides. The first-of-its-kind sneaker represents the culmination of the massive collaboration, which included sneakers hailing from the Nike, Converse and Jordan Brand labels.
Never one to skimp on details, A Ma Maniére’s take on the Converse Chuck 70 is packed with intricacies and subtle design elements. The shoe’s Swoosh is different on each shoe: it’s fully embroidered on the right, while the left features a leather logo. The asymmetrical theme carries over to the metal lace dubraes, with Nike branding appearing on the right and the Converse logo etched into the left. The shoe’s woven tongue labels also continue the mismatched theme with a classic Nike logo on the right and A Ma Maniére’s “A” branding on the left. Inside, the store’s repeating “A” monogram fills the liner as well as the heel stripe, and extra comfort is added by way of a Nike Zoom Air insole.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like many fans will have a chance to get their hands on the sneaker, as it appears to be strictly a friends-and-family exclusive for the time being. There’s said to be only 50 pairs of the collaboration in the UK with a total of 100 units worldwide.
The A Ma Maniére “While You Were Sleeping” collection included the Air Jordan 3, Air Jordan 39, Air Jordan 4, Nike Air Max 95, Nike Air Force 1 Low and the Converse Weapon. The shoes began releasing in August with the Air Jordan 3 and culminated with the Converse Weapon in December. The multi-sneaker collection is the largest Nike collaboration since Virgil Abloh’s Off-White “The Ten” group in 2017.
And speaking of Abloh, the designer’s Off-White x Converse Chuck Taylor All Star was originally meant to have a Swoosh logo. “This was the original design intention,” Abloh said while giving a lecture at Harvard in ’17. “It basically caused a huge headache when I tried to pull this one off. My dream was [to] make impossible product. Product that doesn’t seem like it would make it through a legal department. That’s an ongoing thing. Since it’s Nike Inc. going across brands that they own, which is huge.”
A similar dual-branded concept was also featured on Market’s “Bootleg” Converse Chuck Taylor All Star in 2018.