How does a company with so much history bridge heritage and innovation? Ask Sam Smallidge, the archivist at Converse. A pioneer in basketball and skateboarding footwear, Converse has mastered the art of blending archival treasures with modern design. From the timeless Chuck Taylor to groundbreaking skate silhouettes, Converse’s legacy continues to inspire generations of creators, athletes, and trendsetters. Smallidge has the task of looking back into the company’s history and into the brand’s design process and the cultural connections that shape it, like how iconic shoes like the Chuck Taylor, the One Star, and the Weapon transcended their original purpose — organically finding new homes in skate parks, weightlifting gyms, and even the fashion-forward closets of athletes.
Schön! chats with Sam Smallidge about Converse’s history, his work as an archivist, and more.
How much would you say the archive influences current design? What’s that process like?
It depends on the team. With our premium design partners, for example, we’ll have full-on working sessions. If they’re interested in a specific shoe from, say, 1996, I’ll pull it from the archive and contextualize it by showing shoes from a few years before and after. That helps them see how certain elements evolved—how a little detail here might have blown up a couple of years later. For collaborations, we might show a Chuck from each decade, along with other canvas shoes we’ve made that have different features—like toe bumpers, foxing tape, or license plates. We want to make the design process unique for them. For inline projects, it can be as simple as “flowers on shoes” or very broad asks like “low profile.” Then we ask, “What does low profile mean to you?” It can vary a lot. But that’s one of my favourite parts of the job.
How do you see culture influencing the archive, and vice versa? Can you track trends over time?
What’s fascinating is seeing moments where designs and culture align. For example, our skate team’s preference for low-profile designs matched perfectly with the women’s tennis line from the 1970s. When you filter by criteria like “used for skateboarding,” “low profile,” or “no raised star Chevron,” you start narrowing things down to a specific look. Athletes also bring a lot to the designs. They go vintage shopping, send photos, or even buy shoes themselves and say, “I want this.” They’re not passive participants—they have strong opinions. It reflects how much access younger generations have now. They’re more connected to design and culture than ever before.
It’s interesting how those personal connections influence things over time.
Exactly. For example, our CEO, Jared, had a Larry Bird poster in his bedroom growing up. When he became CEO, he came to the archive and asked for that same poster. It’s amazing how those early memories stick with people and influence them later in life. When collaborators come in with specific ideas or memories, it’s so much better than having no direction. Those personal connections really bring designs to life.
This space is about showing how basketball silhouettes were organically repurposed in other cultures. For example, Chuck got adopted into weightlifting and boxing. We applied that same curation mindset here with the ERX Pro which takes the Pro Leather look and evolves it into a late-’90s skate silhouette with a fatter tongue and more padding. The All-Star 2000 takes Chuck’s DNA and applies it to a modern basketball silhouette, with the ankle pad, pinstripe, and toe bumper. The wrestling shoe represents combat sports. It’s one of my favourite archive shoes, with great design details and a fist graphic on the back.
Then you have pieces that apply skateboarding to other areas, like how a pro model inspired by late-’90s running shoes, with visible cushioning and a built-up midfoot. The loafer, which takes One Star DNA and blends it with a business-casual look. Skateboarding, which people often see as one-dimensional, borrows so much from other sports and areas of culture.
What’s next for the brand?
For the brand, it’s about partnering with communities that have adopted us organically and giving back. That’s where I see things going—strengthening those connections. It’s a great way to connect the past with the present.
Check out the collection at converse.com.