Feng Chen Wang Debuts New Collaboration With Converse
This time taking on the classic Jack Purcell silhouette.
London-based designer Feng Chen Wang is a long-time Converse collaborator, and now she has just revealed her latest project with the footwear giant. Inspired by her heritage and hometown in the northern Fujian province of China and the energetic streets of both Shanghai and London, her latest collection takes on the iconic Jack Purcell silhouette.
“It is such an iconic sneaker steeped in history, I find it fascinating that a shoe once designed for badminton in 1935 is still met with such excitement today. I’m always trying to push myself to design out of my comfort zone and working with the Jack Purcell I was able to do so,” Wang tells Hypebae, explaining how she reinvented the classic shoe. “The design is my name in Chinese characters that is laser cut and applied as lots of layers, which is very hard to apply to the shoe as you have to put all the small pieces together. On the black pair, you can see that there are five different hues of black. The design actually altered the shape of the Jack Purcell slightly.”
The sneaker is Feng Chen Wang’s third capsule with Converse. The designer has previously worked with the Chuck 70 and the 80s basketball silhouette Converse ERX, and the Jack Purcell was chosen for its widely recognized signature ‘smile’ on the toe cap. Arriving in two colorways, the shoe is a conceptual take on the heritage of the designer herself as well as Converse. In addition to the footwear, a selection of apparel is also releasing alongside, including. jacket, vest, shorts, pants and short sleeve T-shirt.
“Although I have been living in London for 10 years, I always refer back to my home, to where I have come from and who I am. Incorporating my Chinese heritage is very important to me,” Feng Chen Wang adds.
Take a look at the collection in the gallery above, and stay tuned as the range drops on August 6. The Jack Purcell sneakers will retail at £110 GBP (approximately $144 USD).
