The Converse X Alexis Sablone AS-1 Pro is Your New Favourite Skate Shoe
Alexis Sablone – the multifaceted, intimidatingly talented skater/artist/architect/producer/designer/v-heelflipper – has teamed up with Converse Cons to bestow upon the earth the new AS-1 Pro signature shoe, designed for comfort, performance, style, and responsiveness.
If somehow you skate and you aren’t already worshiping at Alexis Sablone’s alter, here is a brief list of accomplishments:
-Talented sculptor and painter
-Architecture Degree from MIT
-A freaking Olympian
-Probably the nicest varial heel currently v-heeling
Now, Sablone is able to add ‘co-creator of a signature shoe’ to that list.
If you cannot yet tell, we are very excited. Alexis has been one of our favourite skaters since we were learning to ollie up a curb, has produced some of our all time favourite board graphics/works of art, and has been something of a role model if that isn’t too cheesy to say. Likewise, Cons has been one of our all time favorite shoe companies since before Eli Reed ever set foot in Jamaica and well before Purple did their team such perfect justice.
These two skateboarding legends combining feels to us a bit like our two favorite bands whom we have written fan letters to and followed around in an old van have gotten together to make a collab album, and that album is all about skating better, perfect flick, and long-lasting comfort.
In case you missed it, last weekend, we attended the AS-1 Pro shoe launch at the Guggenheim in New York City, shot a bunch of photos, drank a bunch of pink drink, and drooled over the AS-1 Pro’s 1990’s-inspired silhouette. There was a screening for a film (directed by Jeremy Elkin, the visionary behind All the Streets are Silent) that chronicled Sablone’s illustrious career to date, detailed the artistic and technical processes through which Sablone and Converse Cons were able to collaborate on the AS-1 Pro’s design and featured Alexis skating the Guggenheim’s famously-skatable surfaces, which sparked a bit of jealousy but was a joy to live vicariously through.
The AS-1 Pro (available tomorrow, May 2nd) combines skateboarding performance and functionality with impeccable attention to detail and a taste for design. The shoe takes aesthetic and technical inspiration from Converse basketball and court silhouettes of the 80s, while leveraging the brand’s innovative performance solutions to introduce an offering that shines through its detailing.
But really, what matters most is the answer to the questions, ‘does it skate well?’ If last year’s trend of skating in slippers has taught us anything, it’s that a stylish shoe isn’t worth shit if there’s no board feel, it’s uncomfortable, or bursts open like a zit after a couple of kickflips. To determine the skatability of the shoe, we took some arguably sketchy means. A friend of ours knows a guy who got his hands on a pair and was able to take them for a very isolated, very secret session. He reported solid flick, retained shape, and a textured outer layer that grips and splits in such a way that our friend of a friend reported as being, ‘pretty sick.’
Now for the nerds like us who like to get into the soul of the sole of the shoe, some info about the technical aspects: the AS-1 Pro is Converse’ first performance skateboarding cupsole shoe. The shoe sports a new and improved coring that enables increased cushioning, impact, and board feel. The shoe pops with color accents, and a CONS monochrome logo is seen on the tongue, while the upper toe panel is reinforced with TPU pods to help minimize wear. The silhouette features a CX foam sockliner for cushioning, and with adjustment to the height of the rubber on the laterals, the AS-1 Pro can handle the demands of all types of riders. So yeah, pretty sick.
The Converse X Alexis Sablone AS-1 Pro - first available in full-grain leather - is a shoe that one can get excited about, whether you’re a street skater, a curb skater, a skater dater, or a pedestrian, and we are, indeed, excited. It’s a skate shoe, but it’s also an accomplishment and a piece to be proud of, backed by a company we love, and designed by a skater we love, with heart, soul, devotion, intent, thoughtfulness, insight, and care.
The AS-1 Pro is available now on Converse.com.au and select global skate shops.
