Converse and Jerry Lorenzo of Fear Of God resurrect the Skid Grip from Converse’s archives for their latest ‘Essentials’ collaboration.

Contrasting their previous collaborative efforts, Converse and Jerry Lorenzo from Fear of God are at it again, this time on the lesser-known Skid Grip. Jerry Lorenzo has re-discovered a gem in the Skid Grip archives and shapes it for the streets of today. With bold, vibrant colours, the Skid Grip Con-Rad was a go-to for surfers and skaters in the late ‘80s—and was one of Jerry’s childhood favourites. This collaboration reworks the original, keeping the loud colours but evolving the design for a more modern look. While the maxed-out pattern on the canvas isn’t the minimalism you expect from Lorenzo, the clean profile and sleek shape place this updated classic firmly in the Fear of God aesthetic.

Taking to Instagram to underscore his reverence for the historic Converse silhouette, Jerry Lorenzo explains, '...so to get personal, I had these skid-grips in 6th grade back in like ‘88... I think my mom found them on sale at stride-rite or somewhere in the mall. we had just moved to Florida from northern California and kids were all either wearing Vans or Airwalks at the time... I fell in love w/ this shoe because it was so different... I could hoop in them, and the colourful print/pattern that spoke to surf/skate/BMX culture could also make it easier for me to step in new circles with other kids and possibly make new friends... crazy how sneakers can give you such new confidence... on a trip to Tokyo about 4 years ago with Chris from Union LA, I found a vintage pair of these og made in the USA skid grips in Koenji... all the emotions came rushing back... I sent the shoe to Converse and the team re-created the original colour print pattern that had been lost on the upper and we adjusted the last/shape and Modernised the sole to give it as much of an 80s emotion as a 2020 feeling... anyhow, I hope you like these 80s “Rad” vibes... the release date is set for August 27, 2020... as much as we selfishly recreated these for the 12-year-old Jerry Lorenzo, we made these for you too... hope we were able to re-capture the magic of this shoe and you have the faith to enter into new rooms and circles w/ the confidence I did at 12 years old.’

Registration is now open Up There Launches, with the draw closing on the 31st August at 8:00AM AEST.

Sizes US4 through to US13 (whole sizes only) will be available for $170AUD.

Head on over to our Launches section here, and shop the latest from Converse here…