The Converse Chuck 70, that unassuming canvas icon that has served as a blank canvas for countless collaborations, has received its most exuberant makeover yet courtesy of Collina Strada. Hillary Taymour, the designer behind the New York-based label known for its irreverent approach to proportion and color, has reimagined the sneaker across three silhouettes that debuted across her last two New York Fashion Week shows, bringing the runway directly to the sidewalk.
The collection comprises low-top and high-top versions executed in colorways with names like ‘Mellow Yellow,’ ‘Fire Green/Spinach,’ and a thigh-high XXHi variant finished in an inky black. Each pair is saturated with the visual language that has defined Taymour’s work at Collina Strada: clashing color juxtapositions, unexpected textural details, and the kind of unapologetic playfulness that treats fashion as a form of self-expression rather than a signal of belonging.
The collaboration is notable for how naturally it integrates Taymour’s design codes into Converse’s existing language. Rather than applying Collina Strada’s graphics as a surface treatment atop a standard shoe, the partnership reconsiders the Chuck 70’s construction: the exaggerated proportions, the unexpected trims and charms, the deliberate collision of textures. It is a collaboration that feels less like a licensing exercise and more like a genuine meeting of creative sensibilities — two brands that share a belief in fashion as a vehicle for joy.
For Converse, the partnership continues the brand’s strategy of aligning with avant-garde American designers who can inject editorial credibility into its heritage silhouettes. For Collina Strada, it represents the brand’s continued expansion beyond ready-to-wear into the accessories and footwear categories that increasingly define young fashion consumers’ purchasing decisions. The collection is available online at converse.com and collinastrada.com, priced between $165 and $205.
The Chuck 70 XXHi, particularly, represents the collaboration’s most daring gesture. Extending to thigh height, the boot-like silhouette takes the sneaker into territory usually reserved for weatherproof footwear or fetishwear, recontextualizing Converse’s most recognizable form through a lens of exaggerated proportion. It is a silhouette that demands a certain confidence from its wearer — the kind of garment that, in Taymour’s hands, becomes a conversation starter rather than a background detail.
