In 1908 Marquise Mills Converse founded a small shoe factory with the same name in Malden, Massachusetts. At the time basketball was still a very new sport and as a huge fan he decided to produce the first basketball shoes. Initially they sold just enough shoes to keep themselves afloat in the market. Today this is somewhat hard to imagine as both Converse clothing and its shoes are everywhere. The turning point for Converse came in 1917 when basketball player Chuck Taylor joined the company and thrust the brand into the limelight. He improved the grip and eventually got his signature added to the logo which can still be seen on Converse clothing today. The Chuck Taylor All-Star resultantly became the first signature trainer in the world and was an absolute smash hit on the court. Converse Chucks, as they quickly became known, were worn on the basketball court right up until the 1960s. Converse clothing and the rest of the range from Converse are now absolute staple products which we could not do without.
Converse clothing’s success follows the shoes
In the 70s and 80s Chucks were superseded in the sporting world by more functional and advanced options such as the Converse Weapon which came into fashion having been worn by Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Yet Converse is so much more than just its trainers and Converse clothing is an essential component for the casual everyday look. Marquis Mills could have never dreamt up this success of becoming one of the largest sporting brands worldwide from his little shoe factory in Malden.
