If you are at all influential in Philly’s street culture, you were at UBIQ Friday night to take in an invite-only party for the release of one of the industry’s most famous sneakers. Stalley hit the stage to perform, and DJ Young Guru laced the crowd all night with a lot of Jigga and State Property. Rappers Asher Roth, Chill Moody and Young Savage were in the house, as was boxer Henry Lundy. All well-known throughout the City of Brotherly Love, they all eventually took a backseat for Dr. J.
A hopping party for the re-launch of the Converse Pro Leathers HAD to have the man who originally made the sneaker famous, and luckily for everyone in the building, Julius Erving came through with a smile on his face. Upon arriving at the Walnut Street store at around 9 p.m., Erving came in and received a tour of the place: Converse’s wall of t-shirts, all paying tribute to some part of Philly culture, a giant mural on the wall made by local graffitti artist Tis “Nosego” Goodwin, encased displays along the staircase with signed game-worn sneakers from Dr. J, and an upstairs product room with dozens of 76er snapbacks, a picture on the wall of the 1973-74 Stanley Cup champs from Philly, and a giant mural of Erving in a Sixers jersey (which he signed).
Closer to the stage, there was even the celebrated Jordan X Converse 30th Anniversary Pack, one of just 23 in the world to be auctioned off. Enclosed in a glass case, there was a signed Michael Jordan UNC jersey and a pair of special limited-edition shoes to mirror the Converse Pro Leather that Michael Jordan was during the 1982 championship in New Orleans.
The city was locked in a nasty, humid heat wave after a storm had splashed down on Philly just hours before, but inside the sneaker boutique in the downtown shopping district, the atmosphere was sunny. Erving spent about 20 minutes after the tour saying his hellos, thank yous and taking pictures. I made sure to shake his hand more than once. It’s not every day you get a chance to greet perhaps the most famous mitts in NBA history, the ones he used to pull off mid-air acrobatics that are still talked about to this day.
And while Erving did everything from finger which snapbacks he thought were the hottest to go up on stage, thank the crowd and introduce Stalley (who really rocked the place with live instruments), what he was really there for were the sneakers.
“I had on sneakers when I played, sneakers when I practiced,” Erving told the assorted guests. “Each and every time I had on my sneakers, I had on my Converse.”
Back in 1976 when it outfitted many of the best players in the NBA like Erving, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, the Pro Leather could survive off-court, but it was meant to be rocked on the floor as the first modern basketball shoe. Now, Converse is re-launching the famed sneaker in a slightly different style, and plan for it to catch on as a lifestyle product.
“I think performance-wise, there’s so much high-tech stuff associated with shoes now, you gotta market ’em that way,” he told me Friday night. “I think the Pro Leather was more of a pure play: leather, rubber, combine, and that was it. My shoes were always made on a last. Now shoes have to be designed on a computer. You can’t design them on a last.”
Even though Erving isn’t involved in the day-to-day process of making and testing out sneakers anymore, the legend is still under contract with Converse, still loves his Pro Leathers, and believes these new ones will find a place in the current street culture.
While it originated over 30 years ago as a strictly on-court shoe, the Converse Pro Leather is instead now coming out as a lifestyle sneaker, and is available at UBIQ for a suggested retail price of $65-75.
Check out these great photos from the event:
What do you think?
All photos by Jason Hurst
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