The fact Converse and GOLF WANG’s One Star CC looks noticeably similar to a Vans Slip-On is quite ironic: the musician behind the collaboration, Tyler, The Creator, left Vans to switch allegiances to Converse in 2017.
Across three short years, Tyler, The Creator and Vans released several colorful sneakers — Flog Gnaw-branded Vans Authentics, pink-soled Old Skools, Donut-covered Hi-tops — without ever touching its signature slip-on model.
Then, in 2017, he surprisingly signed a deal with its close rival Converse. “Conversations with Converse finalized, cause Vans fucked up,” Tyler raps on the song I Ain’t Got Time! (2017). And now, eight years later, he and Converse are dropping a very Vans-esque sneaker.
With a thick, skate-appropriate sole, elasticated curved front panel, and padded collar, the similarities between Converse’s laceless One Star and Vans’ classic Slip-On are undeniable. Although this isn’t Tyler’s doing, the One Star CC has been part of Converse’s repertoire for some time.
Still, surprising Tyler would pick this Vans-coded model for a collaboration since his outspokenness against Vans in the past. Even if that was a whole eight years ago.
Tyler, The Creator’s brand GOLF WANG brings a hairy suede finish to the upper of the One Star CC, a textured material execution from previous Tyler x Converse sneakers. It is expected to be released later this year.
Last year, Converse played a similar trick with Tokyo-based label Graphpaper, turning its Jack Purcell sneaker into a Vans-coded slip-on. And it’s not alone: brands as disparate as luxury leather specialist Bottega Veneta and German heritage brand Birkenstock have also released their own version of the skate-able Vans slip-on.
It might be synonymous with Vans, but this style of slip-on is available from various brands, at various price points. (If you want Bottega’s version, you’ll have to dish out four figures.)