Including performances from Princess Nokia and Yung Lean as well as limited edition styles created by MadeMe, Tizzy T and Tyler, The Creator
Last week saw stars including Princess Nokia, Yung Lean and A$AP Nast descend upon the Converse One Star Hotel, a five-floor pop-up nestled in the heart of Shoreditch. It wasn’t a hotel as you know it, though. Evening entertainment came courtesy of IAMDDB, Slow Thai, Siobhan Bell and more. There was plenty to see throughout the days, too: guests could register for exclusive events, take part in screen-printing workshops and dance the hours away to carefully-curated mixes by the Radar Radio DJs, who took full control of the top floor.
There was also the chance to snap up some seriously limited-edition merch. As part of the campaign, Converse asked the likes of Tyler, the Creator, Tizzy T and MadeMe’s Erin Magee to put their own stamp on the classic One Star suede low-top.
The results were eclectic – think motifs, pastels and platforms – and each come accompanied by a themed room, also conceived by the collaborators. If you didn’t manage to get down, the hotel has now sadly closed its doors, but here’s everything that you missed.
MADEME RECREATED A 90S TEEN BEDROOM
When tasked with creating her own room, MadeMe designer Erin Magee conjured up a queer teen’s dream. “I wanted it to feel a little eerie and creepy, and I also wanted to bring in that gay undertone that always underpins MadeMe designs,” she explains. Magee looked to the monochromatic bedrooms of The Doom Generation (1995) as a visual cue, adorning the yellow walls with rave posters and disembodied doll parts.
Kitsch fur accents add a cute nod to the 1990s – “I always reference that time period because that’s when I was a young teen. That’s when clothes and culture were really exciting to me,” she adds, before underscoring her love for Converse and pointing out her own vintage One Stars, bought on Etsy a few years ago. Like Magee’s vision, the room was tongue-in-cheek with a twist of subversion – essentially, it’s everything MadeMe stands for.
THERE WAS A LIVE FASHION PRESENTATION
If you weren’t lucky enough to bag invitations to the most coveted shows of London Fashion Week, you could have swung by the hotel instead to see the latest from British-American designer – and Dazed favourite – Mimi Wade. Eschewing the runway format altogether, the forward-thinking young talent instead showed her AW18 collection at the One Star Hotel’s Laundry.
Like her past collections, guests saw Wade present unconventional riffs on old Hollywood glamour and sartorial hyper-femininity – all with a dose of practicality which is hard to find in the fantasy world of fashion. “I always go out in flats,” said Wade, highlighting the accessibility of staples like the One Star. “I actually can’t walk in heels!”
THERE WAS AN INSTA-FAMOUS CONCIERGE
With his cheeky smile and quick sense of humour, it’s easy to see why 15-year-old Leo Mandella – aka @gullyguyleo – has already racked up hundreds of thousands of fans and, of course, a Converse campaign. “I knew from the get-go that they were a good brand to start working with; it felt young, it felt rebellious and it felt right,” he explained to us on a sofa in the cotton candy-hued ‘Step Into Sweetness’ room.
“When I went into conversations about the hotel, I really wanted to keep it low-key and just show myself,” he said of his involvement with the pop-up. So, not only was he a temporary concierge, he was also on hand to teach an Instagram masterclass (“I’ll let out my inner secrets!”) and saw his own custom stencils screen-printed onto Converse tees. “Those stencils and logos really represent me – it’s all about just being here, keeping it real and just messing around – like I am now!”
YOU COULD PLAY MAHJONG WITH A RAP STAR
China may not exactly be known for its rap scene, but last year’s hit hip hop reality show The Rap of China looked set to change everything – before the government stepped in to censor ‘hip hop culture’ on-screen, that is. Still, the first season spawned stars incluing GAI, PG One, VaVa and Tizzy T, whose limited edition Converse designs were up for grabs if you could beat him in a game of mahjong. The rapper’s partnership with an internationally-known brand like Converse hints that stars could start breaking out of their home country and making waves overseas instead.
When tasked with designing his room, Tizzy T decided to bring Lunar New Year celebrations to his ‘Year of the Dog’ bedroom, adorned with giant mahjong tiles and filled with a series of experienced coaches to help polish your skills. It was a unique experience and a chance to meet – and maybe compete with – a star whose flow, charisma and style look set to land him – and a handful of his talented contemporaries – a global profile.
A$AP NAST TOOK US ON A TRIP BACK IN TIME
You already know that A$AP Nast is a talented lyricist and one of the world’s freshest-dressed musicians, but you might not know that he’s obsessed with the mid-century. “My phone is literally an archive of things from the 50s, 60,’0s… I even drive an old 1977 Mercedes Benz 450SL! I live in that time,” he explained in his geometric wallpapered-room. “The 1970s… That’s where to find some of the best movies, fashion, just culture in general.”
The aesthetics of this era permeate his hyper-limited One Star design, a combination of mustard-coloured corduroy and a striking burgundy star. “You can associate Converse with so many things and it works… There’s no specific aesthetic,” he says, alluding to the creative freedom he was allowed throughout the project. “Some think Converse is on some rock shit, but you can wear them with anything – you can step outside in your pyjamas and wear Cons. There’s no way to fuck it up!”
THE RADAR TEAM WORKED ITS MAGIC
As a brand, Converse is all about nurturing emerging talent and allowing creative expression to run wild. This ethos is shared by the team at Radar Radio, a respected pirate-style station – and Dazed collaborator – renowned for platforming fresh talent. As part of the One Star Hotel campaign, a series of DJs were enlisted to work their magic on the top floor, curating their own mixes and even broadcasting live for two hours each day.
“Pirate radio has always been about bringing new music and new people into media platforms they couldn’t necessarily reach on their own,” explained station manager Ben Fairclough. “It’s not like you can just get onto Radio 1 instantly, so Radar acts as a platform for people to develop and learn skills.” The team’s presence added a unique educational bent to the pop-up hotel; on the one hand it was an experiential consumer experience, but on the other it was a chance to glean valuable nuggets of information from some of the most talented creatives the world has to offer.
THERE WAS A FILM & ZINE ABOUT LONDON’S SKATE SCENE
The One Star may have been created with basketball players in mind, but the design soon became a wardrobe staple revered by skaters. To illustrate the brand’s history, skater Jamie Platt was enlisted to create a multimedia room which came with its own film, ‘Downtime’, and limited edition zine. “That’s definitely a nod to skate culture,” he explained – “with skateboarding, you’ll always have a film and then a printed magazine.”
Platt himself is sponsored by Converse but almost had his career derailed by a major injury. The looped video alludes to this and the other hardships of being a London-based skater: “It sucks,” he laughs. “You don’t have a lot of downtime in the winter because it’s wet and cold all the time, but I think I’ve been chosen as a figurehead of the UK skaters who power through.” There’s even a concrete bed – conceptual and slick, sure, but not the best for a quick nap.
Watch our short film created at the One Star Hotel below.