Which brands were involved?

With this converse collaboration, we’re not sure just how official this cross collab actually was, but we love it - so we had to include it.

China Town Market is a streetwear brand and bootleg label based in New York.

Nike needs no introduction at all, and is one of the largest brands on the planet.

Converse, equally, needs no introduction. A strong brand in it’s own right, it is actually owned by Nike since 2003!

What was the brand collaboration?

Mike, the founder of China Town Market, (now branded as Market) knew the Chuck Taylor shoe was a classic that could be the perfect canvas for something fun. He aimed to take two of the most demanded things in pop culture and smashing them together; the Nike swoosh and the Converse Chuck Taylor silhoutte.

Rather than persue instagram collabs, China Town Market created a 1 of 1 (a super exclusive shoe) - which was given to, worn and posted on social media by the NBA basketball star, Lebron James. This set the internet on fire and even led to Grammy award winning artist getting in touch with Mike to get her own pair.

Then missing context here is that Nike and Converse have never collaborated. So to see the brand assets merged into one makes this bootleg and instant classic.

What we love about this cross marketing project

The DIY nature of this collaboration. Let’s be clear - this is not a traditional brand collaboration. Nike didn’t officially collaborate, and doing guerrilla marketing like this is not exactly something that we’d advocate. However, it’s undeniable that the results catapulted the brand into the stratesphere.

So much so, that China Town Market has to rethink their brand name, when it outgrew it’s insular beginnings and began to be questioned by the wider Chinese community.

Where can I find out more?

You can read a little more here