Converse and Noah Linked on the Low-Key Skate Shoes You Need to Survive Summer

A lush green flip on Louie Lopez’s latest signature model.Courtesy of ConverseIt’s tough to imagine two bedfellows more perfectly matched than Noah and Converse. The latter’s most iconic kicks—the Chuck Taylor All-Star, the Jack Purcell—are true cross-cultural icons, long worn by prepsters and punks, skaters and hoopers, and everyone in between. Noah, meanwhile, is similarly situated at the intersection of several strains of Americana: founder Brendon Babenzien’s menswear blends Ivy tailoring with hardy workwear, surf and skate with running culture, film and musical influences from all across the spectrum. After linking up for the first time earlier this year with some excellent Chucks, the duo is back for another go-round—and this time, they’re bringing LA skate hero Louie Lopez into the mix.Courtesy of ConverseCourtesy of ConverseLopez, for the uninitiated, is a child prodigy made good: He bagged his first sponsorship from Flip Skateboards at the ripe age of seven, and hit the competition circuit for the first time at 12 in 2006. A true pro’s pro with seamless flow and some of the best line selection in the game, Lopez has been riding with Converse’s skate division CONS since 2014. His second signature model, the CONS Louis Lopez 2 Pro, dropped about a year ago—it’s a clean, simple silhouette with a low-cut top, reinforced stitching, and a CX foam insert for impact reduction.As it happens, Lopez also has a long relationship with Noah, first joining the New York label’s skate team in 2023. The brand’s spin on Lopez’s shoe retains all of its functional features, of course, but they gave it a killer aesthetic makeover, with an upper composed of premium-grade suede in bold green with a white foam tongue featuring the Noah logo. For the sole, they’ve kept things simple with a classic rubber gum material. There’s also a subtle Converse star perforated into the side and Lopez’s initials embossed in gold on the heel, but no loud branding beyond that.Courtesy of ConverseCourtesy of ConverseNeither Noah nor Converse are the showiest of brands, and this collaboration feels in keeping with that. It’s a simple, timeless number that’ll look just as good dropping into a bowl as it will with a chill button-up and wide-leg chinos. A little bit of prep, a little bit of skate—that’s Noah’s sweet spot.The CONS x Noah Louie Lopez 2 Pro launches on July 30 via Converse, Noah, and select retailers for $90.Sign up for Show Notes to get news on the latest runway shows, parties, and insider events on the international fashion circuit.Tres Dean is a contributing writer for GQ specializing in sports, fashion, and the intersections between the two (which most often means covering sneakers). Outside of the going-ons of the sneaker world, he’s profiled athletes like Zion Williamson, defended the valor of reviled directors, and interviewed Travis Scott from the ... Read More