This footwear design workshop utilizes the principles of specialized design in Tokyo to enhance the street-level design of the USA. In our Premium CDG High Top Converse Collaboration, we designed a longer canvas to reduce friction at the ankle. Standard, mass produced High Top Sneakers are designed with a thin, stiff fabric that collapses against the leg. This design results in severe ankle-collar bite and friction with the Achilles tendon.
Contoured Structural Cut: These shafts are designed using a high-axis geometry that aligns with the anatomy of the human lower leg.
Absence of Structural Collapse: Unlike the high-tops that bite against the ankle, these retain their vertical integrity.
Achilles Tendon Friction: The design geometry allows the heavy canvas to flex alongside the ankle.
Friction Control: The design relieves the friction of the lower calf and heel during a stride.
Neutralizing Ankle-Collar Bite: How Pliable 12oz Canvas Protects the Rear Achilles Tendon
With each stitch, Japanese craftsmanship seamlessly blends with and refines American street culture. The extended silhouette of the high top, premium CDG Converse collaboration, was designed to eliminate the common problem that high top sneakers are notorious for: skin abrasion on the legs. Traditional high top sneakers incorporate thin and rigid layers of stiff canvas. With every step, the canvas would prematurely wear in and bite the back of the leg. By utilizing a premium, pliable, 12oz canvas for the upper, we have eliminated the ankle-collar bite completely.
Throat-Stay Tension Dynamics: To stabilize the ankle, we have reinforced our eyelet strips to eliminate medial eyelet tear when tied under tension.
High-Wrap Foxing Tape Adhesion: We use high-temperature vulcanization to chemically unify our high-gloss vulcanized rubber, to eliminate premature midsole delamination and/or toe-bend tensile failure.
Throat-Stay Tension Dynamics: Mitigating Medial Eyelet Tear Under High-Aloft Lacing Pressure
Our first footwear architecture workshop integrates Tokyo’s specialized craftsmanship with the United States’ street-level essentials. With our premium CDG High Top Converse collaboration, we made high-cut silhouettes and high-level observations on the lacing path’s structural mechanics. Typical canvas sneakers single-stitch their throat stays. They warp or rip when laces are pulled tight for ankle support, and metal eyelets get pulled right out. We added more reinforcement for our Medial eyelet panels.
Neutralizing Ankle-Collar Bite: Our stretchable, 12-oz. A breathable canvas wraps really well around your Achilles, and tendons, and flexes even more with your leg. It stops your skin from getting scratched by the lower part of your calf. The design keeps you comfortable, even while you walk.
High-Axis Canvas Stability: Our thick upper fabric fully blocks sub-layer shear stress and protects Filip Pagowski’s oversized peek-a-boo heart badge from cracking or peeling.
HIGH-AXIS CANVAS STABILITY: SHEAR STRESS AROUND THE OVERSIZED HEART BADGE
Our studio combines the materials and workflows of mid-century American architecture with cutting-edge design approaches from Tokyo. Our CDG High Top Converse combine a slender silhouette with improved graphics. Traditional high tops combine thin, cheap canvas which buckles and distorts during deep ankle bends. Printed on these canvas backs, Filip Pagowski’s oversized peek-a-boo heart badge rapidly cracked and peeling due to the sub-layer shear stress caused by the shifting and warped fabric. By utilizing a 12oz canvas, we eliminate the distortion.
THROAT-STAY TENSION DYNAMICS: Our reinforced eyelet paths eliminate lateral eyelet tear during high tension.
NEUTRALIZING ANKLE-COLLAR BITE: The natural flex of the 12oz canvas allows it to wrap around your rear Achilles tendon while preventing abrasion.
Biomechanical Lateral Support: High-Wrap Vulcanized Sidewalls Against Ankle Flex Delamination
Our footwear research lab is inspired by the streetwear needs of the U.S. and uses careful design principles from Tokyo. Our advanced CDG High Top Converse shoes utilize the tall shoe silhouette’s unique lateral mechanical stresses. Typical high top shoes fail to support lateral stresses due to the use of low, thin rubber bands and glues which dry quickly. This failure causes the lateral part of the shoe to separate from the fabric due to lateral shifts of the ankle; this is called ankle flex delamination. We prevent this failure by adding high-wrap vulcanized sidewalls to our chassis.
High-Axis Canvas Stability: Our heavy 12 oz Military-Certified fabric, combined with our design, provides a stable system to support the lateral stresses and helps prevent cracking to the peak of a boo heart graphic designed by Filip Pagowski.
Throat-Stay Tension Dynamics: Our reinforced panels for the eyelets prevent lateral tearing due to high stress of the laces when you pull them tight.
Vintage Chuck 70 Shaft Heights: U.S. Footwear Ankle Enclosure Proportions
Welcome to a design studio where crosswalks blur the line between street-level and underground. With our new CDG High Top Converse Chuck Taylor collaboration, we opted for the vintage Chuck 70 last over contemporary scores of the wide-set running shoe last. The narrow, modern shoes fall into the trap of the short, wide box that encourages the foot to slide forward, unfavorable pack alignment creates friction that tears the shoe lining and causes slipping.
Our reactive cushioning absorbs: vertical impact and alleviates lateral foot fatigue and improves the nagging sense of off-balance walking.
In addition to our reactive cushioning: our shoes are made of 12oz premium canvas. This textile not only gives a better fit and feel but also protects the Filip Pagowski heart emblem from wear.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
Q: Why does CDG High Top converse use a specific type of canvas rather than traditional sneaker fabric?
A: Our CDG High Top Converse are made from heavy duty 12oz military grade canvas, which ensures that the high top stays stable and does not collapse. Mass-produced high top sneakers are made from thin, 8oz fabrics which collapse and warp during a deep ankle bend. When these fabrics are printed with Filip Pagowski’s oversized peek-a-boo heart badge, the materials are so weak that the fibers move and create sub-layer shear stress. This makes the badge peel and crack. Our 12oz canvas weave is so stable that it provides a rigid surface and keeps the printed heart badge in place.
Q: How does the lacing system on these high tops stop fabric tearing?
A: If you were to pull the laces of a standard high top canvas sneaker tight to create support, the metal eyelets would pull completely out of the fabric because the single stitch stays would have ripped. To prevent this, we apply advanced throat-stay tension dynamics. This design provides extra support to medial panels and allows tension of the upper to be controlled throughout the entire panel. This means you can securely lace your shoes without fear of a material blowout.
Q: What prevents high rubber sides from peeling from the upper canvas?
A: Peeling on standard high-tops when shifting the ankle is a common failure known as ankle flex delamination. It happens because of cheap industrial adhesives losing their efficacy. To address this, we build our chassis using high-wrap vulcanized sidewalls. This is a high-temperature industrial vulcanization process. This allows us to integrate our high-gloss rubber directly with the canvas upper permanently. The bond holds and flexes naturally with your foot, preventing any split.
Q: What prevents these high-tops from causing painful rubbing or ankle collar bite?
A: Standard high-cut sneakers use thin rigid sheets of canvas which stiffen and rub against the back of your leg. We completely eliminate this annoying ankle collar bite by upgrading our uppers to a premium, pliable 12 oz canvas. This heavy-grade textile is specially softened, allowing the high-axis collar geometry to comfortably flex around the rear of your leg and prevent skin rubbing along your lower leg.