The 104-year-old Brazilian architect uses his trainer collection to make a political statement. But is this the right context?
Oscar Niemeyer was released from hospital in Rio de Janeiro last weekend – just in time to celebrate the launch of his new Converse collection.
The 104-year-old Brazilian architect, who was admitted for two weeks due to dehydration, has worked with the 104-year-old American trainer brand to develop a range of shoes apparently "born out of a shared passion for creative expression".
The trainers, which have a subdued palette of cream and white with dashes of red, are said to be inspired by Niemeyer's famous quote about curves:
"It is not the right angle that attracts me, nor the straight line, hard and inflexible, created by man. What attracts me is the free and sensual curve – the curve that I find in the mountains of my country, in the sinuous course of its rivers, in the body of the beloved woman."
The new Chuck Taylor All Star Hi model has these words handwritten on white canvas all over it, while its bold red tongue is said to be a reference to the dramatic cantilevered entrance of São Paolo's Ibirapuera Auditorium.
But it seems Niemeyer has also used this opportunity to make a political statement. The lifelong activist and former president of the Brazilian Communist party – an appointment that prevented him from entering America on several occasions – once said: "Our concern is political too – to change the world … Architecture is my work, and I've spent my whole life at a drawing board, but life is more important than architecture. What matters is to improve human beings."
Accordingly, his design for the Chuck Taylor All Star Chukka Boot, rendered in a rich, natural suede, is apparently inspired by his 1986 designs for the Tortura Nunca Mais (Torture Never Again) monument in Rio de Janeiro, while its leather lining features an architectural illustration that references the Landless Workers' Movement.
It should be welcomed that Niemeyer is using this opportunity to raise political awareness, but I wonder what he would make of accusations that dozens of factory workers making Converse sneakers in Indonesia have been routinely abused on the job?
Design
Brazil
Men's shoes
Women's shoes
Oliver Wainwright
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds