By now, we all know that fashion’s affinity for trainers has transcended sportswear alone, placing the footwear among some of fashion history’s most legendary collectables to date. Rewind back to the late 80s, for example, and Converse’s leather high-top Weapon sneakers were blowing up among early sneakerheads after being paraded across the court and in campaigns by some of basketball’s biggest names – including long-time rivals: the Celtics’ Larry Bird and the Lakers’ Magic Johnson. “Choose your weapon,” read an advertisement for the trainers – which originally dropped during the NBA’s 1986 All-Star Weekend in Indiana, urging fans to pick up the Weapon in their favourite player’s team colours.

Soon after, however, due to the success of Nike’s Air Jordans, the Weapon faded from the mainstream – instead becoming one of sneaker culture’s most iconic, iykyk collectible items. Almost 40 years later in 2021 – branching into high fashion – Rick Owens offered up his own, punky version of the shoe fit with tall, chunky soles, a puffed-up tongue, and a jagged, pentagram-shaped collab logo, and last year, Japanese designer and musician Hiroshi Fujiwara dropped his own, stripped-back iteration.

Now, in 2024, Converse has unveiled a brand new era for the Weapon, re-launching the high-top trainer in its original 1980s silhouette and six nostalgic, old-school colourways. This time around – reinventing the Weapon for the next-gen – the label has also presented a never-before-seen, low-top version of the trainer, titled the Weapon Ox. Together, both styles feature signature aspects of the shoe’s composition and form – from its tall tongue to its chevron underlays, Y-bar side panels, and trademark star-shaped Converse logo.

To celebrate the launch, Converse linked up with modern-day basketball superstar-slash-fashion icon Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – most commonly known for scoring as point guard for the Oklahoma Thunders and serving looks as one of the NBA’s best-dressed players (all well-documented via a series of OOTD snaps on IG, of course) – for a campaign highlighting the shoe’s long-standing impact in fashion. “Forget ’86, ’99 or even ’14. The updated Converse Weapon goes everywhere but is here to stay,” the campaign reads, as Shai imitates the shoe’s 1986 face-off adverts by posing back-to-back with himself while holding the new styles. “Create history not hype.” 

Alongside the campaign – and commemorating the trainer’s initial All Star Weekend launch – Converse invited four changemaking, multi-hyphenate creatives to share their takes on the trainers via an immersive exhibition at this year’s All-Star showcase in Indiana. Here, artist and designer Mark Paul Deren, known for his colourful, non-conforming street art; NBA shooting coach and basketball content creator Chris Matthews; high-tech, sports-inspired artist and woodwork designer Kevin Bui; and upcycled accessories designer Georgina Treviño each unveiled their own customised Weapons – sharing the stories behind their inspirations and creative processes alongside the basketball community.

The result? From a spiky, jewel-encrusted high-top from Treviño to Bui’s painted wood grain detailing, a neon, spray-painted colourway from Deren, and Matthews’ hand-written expressions, each artist’s personal take on the shoe highlights the Weapon’s groundbreaking history and long-lasting creative impact – whether you’re collecting the sneaker, wearing them until they’re completely battered-up, or showing them off on the court.

Head here to shop the new Weapon and Weapon Ox at Converse.