Converse Chuck 70 at "The Totoro"

Creativity starts with you and your environment, we linked with SNS Paris crew member, long-time friend and creative, Dorian Malonga for a special Converse project surrounding his community at the "The Totoro" in Ivry Sur Seine.

"3 years ago, I met two nerdy guys named Thomas and Paul on Bandcamp, time flies, and one year later, we decided to create a collective/music label where everyone is welcome. It's pretty much a place for everyone that wants to be creative and collaborate.

After the takeover of an old abandoned shed from the 80s by a handful of people willing and determined to build the foundations of a cultural place giving artistic freedom to all those who pass there, They created "The Totoro" in reference to the film by Hayao Miyazaki "My neighbor Totoro", where two little girls come to live with their father in a large house in the countryside to get closer to the hospital where their mother lives and to discover the existence of wonderful creatures where the collective ABRI has was able to learn and grow at the same time in a totally free and experimental space. The hangar is located in a town called Ivry Sur Seine; everything has been built and optimized by us so that everyone can enjoy art to the fullest, from theater, music, drawing, photography, and we even got ecological vegetables for sale. Quite cool. It's by us, for us (and without any authorization), which makes this the perfect spot and cultural place with the desire to welcome everyone. Today, the state wants to shut "The Totoro" without any reason and destroy the community we have built (you can sign the petition here). But we are stronger together, showing that collaboration makes us grow every day.

The Chuck 70 by Converse is the footwear DNA of the place. It's a beautiful, accessible shoe for everyone, which worked perfectly for this project.

First of all, I wanted to do something SUPER collaborative.

I was inspired by the underground vibe of those artists who only had an occasional need to be connected to social networks and who preferred to tame and know their gear 100%. For a week, I documented people gravitating in the musical world mainly by filming them in their natural habitats and without any filters so that I could see people in their creative process. I gave each member of the collective a disposable camera (22 in total) to document their daily life, and I was absolutely delighted to understand each other's perception and vision. We worked every day so that we could film everyone and every little detail. Yesterday we finished the project and realized we took 938 photos with film cameras and 5 hours of video filmed with cassette cameras. Rough and honest, like a pair of Chucks, from day one after you bought it, to a used version, worn in southern Paris as an artist in an abandoned building creating your vision of art. It's a perfect collaboration, and I am thankful for that."

Art Direction @dorianprs Video+editing @amydougiemo @1200mx Photos/Videos @fanchonv @lesyeuxpoursourire Thanks to @abricatalog @bonpublic_ @amydougiemo @1200mx @fanchonv @lesyeuxpoursourire