‘If you know, you know’: Converse/UNDEFEATED sneaker a love letter to Dodgers culture

Founded near Boston more than a century ago to sell galoshes, Converse is now worn the world over, having sold more than a billion pairs of its iconic Chuck Taylor All-Star sneaker. But the brand’s laid-back style has particularly come to resonate on the West Coast.

So last fall at Paris Fashion Week, when renowned Los Angeles-based streetwear brand UNDEFEATED broached a collaborative Converse sneaker featuring the Dodgers -- who were at the time gearing up to defend their World Series title -- not much arm twisting was necessary.

“From our standpoint, it was an immediate yes,” said Alex Restivo, Converse’s footwear & apparel product director. “Right when they came to us with the idea, we loved it. We weren't necessarily trying to invent any new look, we were just validating a culture that already existed. So we felt like we had to get after it together.”

The resulting shoe, the UNDEFEATED x Converse Brooklyn Dodgers Chuck 70, is a worthy tribute to a team that has become inextricably woven into the civic identity on both coasts, while emerging as a global phenomenon thanks to stars like Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Mookie Betts. (The sneaker will release in limited numbers on April 20 at MLBShop.com, undefeated.com and in person at MLB NYC, the Dodgers Team Store and all UNDEFEATED stores.)

The template that was used, the Chuck 70, is a somewhat modernized version of the original All-Star, a fitting assignment for one of the most iconic sneakers of all time. Introduced as the “Non-Skid” in 1917, the All-Star acquired both an auspicious name change and an influential standard bearer, as semi-pro basketball player Chuck Taylor became smitten with the minimalist canvas-and-rubber shoe and joined the nascent company in the 1920s.

More a salesman than a baller, Taylor barnstormed relentlessly to stage basketball clinics and spread the Converse gospel. Suffice to say, his efforts were effective: The All-Star -- often now referred to as “Chuck Taylors” or Chucks for short -- was worn by the vast majority of pro basketball players for decades, and it was glimpsed on NBA courts as recently as the mid-80’s. Taylor’s influence even extended as far as the U.S. Armed Forces, who donned Converse while training for World War 2.

Obviously, All-Stars had transcended far beyond the basketball court, earning cult favorite status and eventually pervading the mainstream.

“I think the blank canvas of the shoe has allowed the shoe to stay relevant and reinvent itself decade after decade,” Restivo said. “We started in basketball, we were adopted in music culture and we've been picked up by so many different cultures that it has allowed it to continuously reinvent itself.”

Indeed, everyone who is anyone has worn Chucks, from Kurt Cobain to Lil' Wayne, Walter White to Rocky Balboa. Tony Hawk skateboarded in them, while George Lucas built droids in them. It might be the one thing Kendrick Lamar and Drake can agree on.

From the subways in NYC to the beaches in Malibu, paired with cargo shorts or three-piece suits, countless people have written their own story with Chuck Taylors – sometimes literally on the shoe with a sharpie.

“Converse’s story is really about basketball and music and rebellion converging,” said Nick Engvall, writer of The Sneaker Newsletter and a Golden State native. “The Chuck Taylor was the shoe of the NBA before there was a ‘cool’ NBA shoe … Then hip-hop adopted it, punk and alternative culture adopted it, and each of those scenes was massive in California. In the 90’s you would see Chucks being worn up and down the state. You still see them everywhere.

“By the time sneaker culture formalized, Converse already had decades of authentic roots out West. Boston might be home base, but the cultural DNA of that shoe has always belonged to everyone, and the West Coast claimed it a long time ago.”

As such, while paying homage to the Dodgers’ Brooklyn roots with the iconic “old English B” and a creative campaign with legendary NYC graffiti artist Futura, you can find clever nods to SoCal street fashion, including ostrich leather -- “If you know, you know,” joked Restivo -- and design hits inside the tongue in case you want to fold it down in front, as many tend to do in Los Angeles.

“Wearing them with the tongue folded over isn’t for everyone,” UNDEFEATED global marketing manager Kris Hattori said with a laugh, “but I hope we see some people rock them that way.”

Ultimately, the Chuck 70 offers a modern take on a cherished shoe, while preserving the essence of what makes it special to begin with.

“We understand that when you’re reworking a classic, every detail has to be thought through,” Hattori said. “We don’t add anything just for the sake of it. It’s about knowing when to push and when to preserve. It’s a collaboration that feels natural because both brands try to honor the past while evolving.”

That attention to detail is a point of pride for UNDEFEATED, a global brand which originated back in 2002 as a joint venture for Eddie Cruz and James Bond, two dreamers enmeshed in the L.A. streetwear scene. Their fledgling shop caught Nike’s attention, and things snowballed from there. UNDEFEATED piled up high-profile partnerships and ultimately expanded to locations in New York and Japan, though its hometown is never far from its heart.

“The [Dodgers] are deeply rooted in the identity of Los Angeles, just like UNDEFEATED, so the opportunity to work on something that celebrates that legacy felt natural,” Hattori said. “This collaboration is beyond baseball -- it’s about representing the city, its history, and the communities that have supported both the team and our brand over the years.”

While UNDEFEATED has had an extensive history of collaboration with both Converse and the Dodgers, this is the first time the three West Coast institutions have joined together on one project -- though given how successful the Chuck 70 concept was, it might not be the last.

“We thrive at the intersection of sports and culture, and Undefeated does the very same thing,” Restivo said. “We wanted to do something special for the fans in the community of Los Angeles, but all three entities have this amazing global appeal and culture.

“So I think this is a very unique project … all the pieces just came together.”