Tell me about the gaiter.

So a lot of welders have these snap-on elements to their uniforms, like gaiters that they put on over their shoes, which is what I wanted to bring into this design. For everything I’m doing with Converse I’m trying to bring in that reference so that even if there isn’t metal, there is still this sensibility that goes back to metalwork.

What’s your favorite way to style them?

I really like them with the gaiters; if it were warmer out, I would be wearing them like that, but now, since it’s colder, I’m just wearing them with baggy pants so that’s also a moment. 

Did you learn anything about yourself during the process of transitioning from jewelry to working with a new medium? 

Yes, I learned that the happy accident is a real thing especially when working with a new medium in a completely new space and context. You have to try things to figure out what works and you can’t plan that outcome. There were a couple of design elements that we had to just see how they were interpreted. 

We love a happy accident, sometimes how the best art is made.

That’s exactly how I feel.

How long did you work on this one?

For about a year.

Was it hard to keep it under wraps?

The amount of times I hit Converse and was like, How about we tease the design process? And they were like, No, it doesn’t work like that for us. It was so hard to not wear the shoes out.

How many prototypes did you go through before feeling good about it? 

Not many, to be honest, I think two. We wanted the material of the gaiter to be a functional, technical piece so figuring out its durability did lead to a lot of sampling.

Do you see another shoe on the horizon?

Yes, we’re working on more shoes for next season, which I’m super excited about as there will be more metalwork and hardware. I love working with shoes, so hopefully there will be more and more.

The Martine Ali Chuck 70 De Luxe Wedge is now available for purchase at converse.com