The History of Comme des Garçons x Converse

The beloved collaboration between Converse and Comme des Garçons has brought its conceptual vision to streets across the globe for over a decade. 

Known for their renegade styling and avant-garde collections, Japanese fashion house Comme des Garçons, and its streetwear label, PLAY have been collaborating with Converse since 2009, embodying the ideals of artistic freedoms that challenge the status quo with individualism and stylish charm.

Take a look over some of the Converse x Comme des Garçons PLAY sneaker collaborations and explore how they have transformed the sneaker market, blurring the lines between art and fashion to become one of the most sought after collabs in the market.
 

Comme des Garçons (CDG) is a fashion house established in 1969 by Japanese fashion designer, Rei Kawakubo. During the 80s, CDG focused on the deconstruction of fashion, removing what was familiar to create garments that were never seen before. Kawakubo’s anti-fashion stance challenged the ideals within the fashion industry, spearheading a new era of avant-garde clothing that was always different from the last.

In 2024, our collaboration with Comme des Garçons (CDG) is celebrating its 15th anniversary. With this milestone, we’ve brought back the original design of the collaboration, the OG Single Hearts CDG sneakers. For the first time ever, we’re also releasing this CDG style in kids sizing. Match your mini with the new range of Converse x Comme des Garçons PLAY released Tuesday 16th July.
 

Converse’s partnership with CDG technically dates back to 2006 when CDG co-founder Rei Kawakubo styled Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars in her runway presentation. Though, the partnership officially commenced in 2009, kicking off a collaboration that has evolved year after year since.
 

In 2009, the very first Converse x Comme des Garçon PLAY collection was released to the public. Featuring the playful heart and eyes logo designed by Polish artist Filip Pagowski, the collaboration focused on the iconic Chuck Taylor All Star silhouette. The teams stripped back a lot of what makes the sneaker iconic, to simplify the heritage and create a quirky yet simple sneaker. This collaboration would be the first of many, continuing as a seasonal release until 2015.
 

In 2015, the fourth and probably most popular Comme des Garçons x Converse collection was launched, focusing on the Chuck 70 silhouette. The PLAY team took to the Chuck 70 canvas with inspiration to evolve the previous iteration.

Removing the minimalistic features of the past, the PLAY team vamped up the CDG heart logo on both black and white canvas uppers, making them bigger and bolder than ever. Even now, the CDG PLAY x Converse Chuck 70 is released each season and is still just as loved by fans as ever.
 

With influence from the streets of New York and Paris, the 2018 CDG PLAY x Converse collection changed the game when it became an online addition, becoming more widely available and accessible to people across the world. Prior to this, the cult favourite was available at select Dover Street Market and Comme des Garçons locations.
 

2020 saw the now iconic CDG PLAY x Converse sneaker collection take on three new forms with a full-colour collection. With the same iconic hearts still as the centre, the iconic Chuck 70 was released in a variety of vibrant hues - candy green, pink and blue. A truly unique look for the long-term partnership, this release aimed to put a colourful pep in your step just in time for spring.
 

For the first time since 2015, the CDG PLAY team looked to a new silhouette to place their heart – Jack Purcell. With the well-known heart and eyes redesigned as oversized, just peeking over the white foxing tape further emphasised the ideals of childlike wonder and imagination through a minimalist lens. Launched with grey canvas uppers and a choice of red or black hearts, the CDG PLAY X Converse collection revamped the Jack Purcell sneaker for generations to come.
 

2021 was an eventful year for the CDG x Converse teams, dropping another CDG PLAY X Converse collection only months after the success of the Jack Purcell. With this collection, 2 new seasonal colours graced the stage in the classic Chuck 70 silhouette. The vivid Blue Quartz and muter Steel Grey canvas uppers featured a contrasting black CDG PLAY heart on both high and low top variations, once again bringing a sense of uniqueness and personality to the collection.
 

For the first time ever, the CDG PLAY x Converse collection features a first-ever with red midsoles – a bold new design is made for those who follow their heart and their own footsteps. Contrasting against the classic black or white Chuck 70 silhouettes, the smaller heart-and-eyes logo pops in its iconic bright red, harmonising with the red foxtape.
 

The collaboration of 12 years and running brings the infamous PLAY heart logo to the One Star for the first time. The limited-edition style pairs the infamous graphic with a matching red star, uniting a go-to sneaker for independents with an iconic symbol of creative expression. The design stays otherwise true to the skate legacy’s timeless look, punctuating a minimalist palette and classic canvas construction with contrast pinstripes and heel stays.
 

The next chapter of our fan-favourite collab was the CDG Multi Hearts design that came out in 2023. This iteration of our long-standing relationship with CDG was perfect for those who follow their heart, not the crowd and in this case the more hearts the merrier with the Multi Hearts design. Comme des Garçons’ conceptual vision blended with our classic street style, giving this design that distinct “je ne sais quoi”. This collaboration introduced new colour combos, featuring the playful multi-heart Chuck 70—red hearts on black and the black hearts on a white canvas.

In celebration of the 15th anniversary of CDG x Converse, we are reissuing the original design launched in 2009 — the OG Single Hearts. While the collaboration’s debut design appeared on the Chuck Taylor All Star in 2009, we are now launching it on both the Chuck 70 and Chuck 70 Ox styles. This reimagines the design that started it all in an elevated and premium silhouette. 

For the first time ever, we are releasing the CDG OG Single Hearts design in kids sizing as well to bring your kids in on the fun with playful heart-and-eyes taking over the classic chuck styles. Don’t miss out on these new kids sneakers and the chance to match your mini with the reimagined men's and women’s OG Single Hearts sneakers.

Discover the latest Comme des Garçons collection online from Converse and shop the range of minimalist-inspired sneakers to add to your own collection.