MadeMe and Converse Have Teamed Up on the One Star Platforms of our Dreams

Our favourite NYC cool girl brand, MadeMe, has teamed up with Converse on an all new collection of 90s-inspired streetwear (think: that girl you always wanted to be friends with in high school, meets downtown New York City). Inspired by 90s queer culture and rave wear, the Converse x MadeMe capsule features tracksuits, t-shirts and the platform One Stars of our junior high school dreams.

For the campaign, the brands tapped MadeMe favourite Mayan Toledano to shoot Madonna’s daughter (and ultimate cool girl) Lourdes Leon in a series of dreamy bedroom scenes. Wearing the collection, Lourdes embodies the no fucks riot grrrl spirit of the Converse x MadeMe collab.

“A cool girl. Independent, who will take risks and not worry about what everyone else is wearing or doing,” said MadeMe creative director Erin Magee in a press release about the type of girl who will wear the range. “It’s a girl who is attracted to authenticity and wants to explore street, rave, queer and 90s subculture.”

Founded around 2007 by Magee, MadeMe is the feminist streetwear label reclaiming the boys club nature of skateboard culture. The “by girls, for girls” brand fuses skate gear with the effortless punk vibe of 90s-era X-Girl, crafting wearable pieces that are feminine and fucking cool. Also inspired by the counterculture worlds of raving and skating, One Star is Converse’s radical older sister — and the perfect match for MadeMe. Launching this Friday, their collaboration pays homage to the outsider ethos that has influenced both brands.

But the collection isn’t the only thing that references New York’s old underground. For the launch of the collab, Converse and MadeMe created a Lower East Side pop-up shop featuring Boris Zuborev, the St. Marks shoe repair god that basically invented platform shoes. Back in the 90s — and before he was booted from his famous hole-in-the-wall location on St. Marks — Boris used to create platforms out of everyday shoes. Ravers, goths, punks and fashion girls would all trek down to his East Village location and wait 15 minutes while Boris would give their Chucks or One Stars a 10 inch platform heel. At the event, customers could do the same to their Converse x MadeMe One Stars, which come in both yellow and green.

And though you won’t be able to get the Boris platform treatment, starting this Friday, you can buy the Converse x MadeMe collection here.