Listen up 90's grunge fans! The limited edition series of custom Kurt Cobain Converse shoes is currently in production. It seems like musicians are crossing over into the shoe industry like crazy lately. These shoes will be released this summer as part of Converse's year-long 100th Anniversary celebration. The styles will include versions of Chuck Taylor All Star, Jack Purcell and One Star shoes. Other icons featured for the Converse celebration have included Joy Division's Ian Curtis, writer Hunter S. Thompson and the Sex Pistols' Sid Vicious.
The design elements for each of the shoes are taken from Cobain’s own drawings and writings that were published in the 2002 book Journals. The official Kurt Cobain Converse are being produced with the full cooperation and approval of Courtney Love, Cobain's widow, who owns his estate. The shoes are the first branded product that the Cobain estate has approved since his death in 1994.
The development of the shoes has sparked some controversy among Nirvana fans who believe it is an invasion of Cobain's privacy to publish phrases from his personal diary on the shoes. Some fans claim that the mainstream marketing of this shoe would go against everything Cobain stood for. Others don't want Courtney Love or Converse to benefit and make any money from the deal.