COOKEIE

 Leading the charge on Converse’s internal strategy for the implementation of the “Renew” sustainability line, I with my category partners in footwear development, materials development, product, and design developed our internal viewpoint around engineered knits. This is a space that Converse had played in previously - but It never felt brand right, and I had a vision and a pitch for what it could look like. This brought forth several seasons of exploration in knit and various other areas - helping to utilize concepts and materials coming through the innovation pipeline and implementing them into seasonal product.

We used early pull-overs for pre-seasonal iteration and exploration—utilizing the original assortment to it’s max potential. I used this opportunity to test out the consistency across several production facilities in order to make sure they could maintain a consistent quality while also testing out different aesthetics. This also served as a chance to try out the maximum combination and variation of knit structures by creating different combinations across the briefed assortment. The intended aesthetic was to utilize heritage blocking patterns built into the knit in order to create visual differentiation within the upper of a single model, as well as across other tiered models in the line.

In addition, these blockings aimed to create blocking potential looking forward several seasons in order to create relevant newness in the line with new palettes, seasonality, and other aesthetic parameters.

The original assortment (above) for the Chuck 70’s above and combined CTAS below—showing the entire assortment at different product tiers. Further differentiation was created in the classic chuck (below) by using a classic white rubber with regrind for the entire bottom unit as well as the medial patch paired with a simplified upper for the less adventurous consumer.