It takes a lot for anything to stand out in fashion week's frenzy of parties and press releases.It takes a lot for anything to stand out in fashion week's frenzy of parties and press releases. But a collaboration between Converse and Maison Martin Margiela does just that. The classic All-Star and Jack Purcell kicks have been generously coated in Margiela's iconic white paint. With time, the paint wears away to expose the color beneath.

Last night, despite the general sense of fatigue permeating every single human interaction, a crowd turned out to fete the marriage of the all-American and the French avant-garde at the Swiss Institute. Guests snacked on Brooklyn's Dough doughnuts and spring rolls—served in appropriately irreverent Chinese takeout containers—and danced to the deejay beats of Glenn O'Brien. The downtown paragon clued us in on his playlist: Jean-Michel Basquiat with Rammellzee, Spoonie Gee, and Naughty By Nature's "O.P.P."—a crowd favorite.

Across the space, Nicola Formichetti marveled at one of the many pieces of installation art: Converse All-Stars floating in a canal of white paint, laces frozen midair. "I was like, How did they do that?, so I touched it…I thought they chopped the shoes [off]. You don't get surprised so often. We see so much stuff online and at shows and events, and I really get like—whoa!—but they've still got it, the house of Margiela and Converse. They've still got it."
POST: 2026-08-26