Like everything he does, artist Ruslan Karablin likes to be low key about it. Better known as SSUR, Karablin might be the last few bastions who propagate the true conviction of what street art is. It isn’t about self-promotion or the fame plus fortune, which usually follow. Instead, it is a pure of self-expression, or to raise the volume on social grievances mainstream media deemed unimportant. And though the neighborhood, the art, the culture, and etc…have all changed. SSUR was one who stayed the course through the thick and thin the past 15 years. In honor of that unyielding spirit, footwear label CONVERSE designed a special Pro Leather 1976 Model for the artist, set to release this weekend. This SSUR x CONVERSE Pro Leather 76 Hi is a throwback to the urban street ball classic that first appeared in 1976. Known as Russ to his friends, the collaborative Pro Leather 76 Hi is in tonal black colorway, a signature theme of SSUR. A handsome appointment of premium suede upper with perforated Star Chevron, CONVERSE’s classic logo. A hint of its eminence from other CONVERSE sneakers, a metallic gold lace tab in the form of a shark tooth dominated the visual presence on the sneaker’s front while a gold embossed skull and cross bones, another SSUR signature, occupied the heel tabs on the back.
Like previous collaborations, CONVERSE will put out a limited number of pairs to select retailers, such as UNDFTD and SSUR’s own store around SoHo NYC. Set to release tomorrow, August 20th.