March 28, 2024
Designer Tremain Emory is revealing how “uncomfortable” Converse was with his watermelon-inspired sneaker idea for the Chuck 70 collab.
Designer Tremain Emory is revealing how “uncomfortable” Converse was with his watermelon-inspired sneaker idea for the Chuck 70 collab.
The Denim Tears founder sat down with legendary Def Jam record exec Rick Rubin as part of his “Tetragrammaton” podcast where he explained why he never teamed back up with Converse following the Pan-African flag Chuck Taylor from 2020. According to Emory, his idea for a watermelon-themed sneaker was deemed too contentious for Converse to navigate in the current racial climate and they wanted to avoid being labeled racist.
“The difference in the situation was, they called me, they told me, they weren’t down, they didn’t wanna do it,” Emory said around the 02:14:35 mark. “They were uncomfortable with the imagery.”
The watermelon sneaker would have followed the high and low Chuck 70’s released in October 2020 which included the Pan-African flag on the upper. Coming one month ahead of a controversial presidential election between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the shoe served as a nod to get Black creatives to vote.
Despite Converse’s pushback on the sneakers, Emory maintained his vision and released a Denim Tears S/S 2024 “Kiss My Grits” collection earlier this month which
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