Editor’s Note: “Boston Thriving” is an ongoing series from Vanyaland highlighting and honoring the national and global success of Boston- and New England-based bands and artists.
Converse just dropped your chance to walk a mile in another artist’s shoes.
To amplify their “Converse By You” campaign — which allows users to customize 13 of their classic sneaker models — the forever-trendy shoe brand tapped Boston rapper Neemz (pictured above) and Providence DJ Where’s Nasty to design their own kicks. Fans can check out the intricacies of these bespoke High Tops on the Converse website — and if they’re inclined, they even can order exact replicas.
Neemz used her design to channel the color palette of her Palestinian heritage with earthy shades of green, brown, tan, and yellow on a chunky pair of platform Chuck Taylors.
“As a Palestinian American Muslim woman, to have been able to share my personal space with the team, and tell my story, whilst enjoying delectable traditional dishes home cooked by my mom, was just so wholesome!” she writes on Instagram. “The feeling is bigger than me! Making this shoe was a really fun and an emotional process! The olive tones representing the olive trees, the captured images of my mom’s neighborhood with the beige/mustard tones, the gold lace rims showcasing some valued accessories, and the browns to ground it all back together.”
Where’s Nasty also took a stroll down memory lane with his sneakers, creating a green, black, and red High-Top homage to his childhood wardrobe.
“When pulling inspiration for this project I came up with this concept around the first times I ever remember thinking about getting fresh, dress down days,” he notes in a post to Instagram. “In elementary school, I went to Holy Name and I had to wear a uniform. Everyone wore the same exact thing except for what was on our feet. Every few weeks we had dress down days where we’d pay $1 dollar and we could wear ‘regular clothes.’ This is one of the earliest points in my life where I began have an opinion on what I was wearing.”
Get a closer look at both designs below, and snag your own pair here.