Converse launches mudcloth shoe to assist Product RED

27 Jan '06

3 min read

Sportswear Company Converse announces its partnership with Product RED, an economic initiative created by Bono (U2, singer and activist) and Bobby Shriver (Chairman of DATA - Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa) designed to deliver sustainable flow of private sector money to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Converse, recognizing the urgency in the HIV/AIDS epidemic, is donating a percentage of sales of Converse RED product.

Every season, Converse and Product RED will collaborate with designers, artists, musicians and filmmakers to inspire originality by creating limited edition Converse RED shoes on a unique canvas that preserves culture and celebrates creativity.

"RED is masterful in its simplicity: the greatest brands in the world enlisted to help with the biggest global emergency of their times.

They are proud to be able to lend one of pop culture's most original and globally recognizable icons to assist in this critical endeavor," said Dave Maddocks,

At the cornerstone of this inaugural Converse RED Collection is the Chuck Taylor All Star mudcloth shoe designed with acclaimed UK designer Giles Deacon.

Converse was inspired by Nakunte Diarra, a renowned mudcloth artist and storyteller since the 1950's who originates from Mali, to fully understand the art, symbolism and technique of Bogolanfini, a mud-dyed cloth of the Bamana people of Mali.

Bogolanfini is a living art form, constantly changing, reflecting new inspirations, while paying homage to the past.

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