Starbucks Collaborates with Converse on Sneakers?! The Qixi Limited Edition is Absolutely Stunning!!!

As the Qixi Festival approaches, Converse has once again collaborated with Starbucks Reserve® Roastery to launch a festival-inspired collection! Scheduled for release on Friday, June 24th at the Starbucks Reserve® Roastery Tokyo.

The Qixi Festival is an important traditional festival originating from China. In some Asian countries influenced by Chinese culture, such as Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and Vietnam, there are also traditions of celebrating Qixi. After the Qixi Festival was introduced to Japan during the Nara period, it was primarily used not to pray for love, but for girls to pray for skilled craftsmanship~ Meanwhile, since Japan abolished the lunar calendar after the Meiji Restoration, Japan's Tanabata Festival is held annually on July 7th of the solar calendar.

Similarly, regardless of which region's Qixi Festival, it revolves around the story of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl, though each region has different names for them. The legend of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl during Qixi最早 originated from people's worship of natural celestial phenomena~

It is said that on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, there are two bright stars in the sky separated by the Milky Way (this correspondence is astronomically known as "separated stars"), but they are exceptionally bright. People at that time connected these with the daily life of men farming and women weaving, thus naming these two bright stars the Cowherd Star and Weaver Girl Star.

Initially, China's Qixi Festival was also for girls to pray for good craftsmanship, so on this day, girls would gather together to showcase their skills, competing to see who had better needlework or fruit carving techniques, hence Qixi was also called the "Begging for Skills Festival." However, with the influence of Western Valentine's Day, to protect traditional culture, it was proposed to treat Qixi as Chinese Valentine's Day.

The story of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl stems from the captivating starry sky, so this year's Starbucks and Converse collaboration features designs inspired by the galaxy and two sparkling stars, as well as light blue colors to cool down the hot summer.

Among the most eye-catching products is undoubtedly the Converse classic shoe-shaped vase! (Yes, a vase😂) Made from the prototype of Converse's classic "All-Star" shoe model, the vase features the Starbucks Reserve® logo on the tongue and outside of the tape, with a CONVERSE TOKYO logo printed inside~ The color used is ice blue, and if it were real shoes, this color combination would also look very attractive!

In addition to the "shoes," this collaboration also launched 6 other items including mugs, umbrella bottles, folding fans, bags, ear clips, and necklaces. Each product showcases elements of the starry sky! From the folding fan, we can see the perfect integration of the three elements, with Starbucks' star and Converse's star on opposite sides of the galaxy - truly a coincidental collision!

This collaboration brings together the brands and the festival as a three-in-one concept, maximizing the significance of the partnership, making people think of Starbucks when they see Converse, think of Converse when they see Starbucks, and think of both Starbucks and Converse during Qixi~

This isn't the first collaboration between Starbucks and Converse! Last year's Qixi marked the beginning of their first partnership~ The previous collaboration featured designs inspired by the galaxy and fireworks, as well as the misty blue presented when constellations illuminate the night sky.

The All-Star shoe vase also took center stage, with a laser milk white appearance creating a visual effect reminiscent of the galaxy and fireworks~ To more closely resemble the original shoe prototype, natural wrinkles that appear on canvas shoes after prolonged wear were intentionally created, with dual brand logos embellishing the tongue and shoe sides.

In addition, 6 other items were launched including T-shirts, mugs, transparent water cups, earrings, scarves, and bags. Among them, the interior of the bag recreates the astronomical phenomenon of the Cowherd Star and Weaver Girl Star, with a very delicate and thoughtful design!

Beyond collaborating with Converse, Starbucks has also partnered multiple times with Hiroshi Fujiwara~ In addition to regular thermoses and water cups, considering the post-pandemic trend of people making coffee at home becoming mainstream, last year's collaboration between the two brands focused more on minimalist home items emphasizing a quality coffee lifestyle.

The series includes coffee French presses, mugs, and blankets (as each collaboration is released at the end of November. Featuring matte black and white colors favored by Hiroshi Fujiwara as the main tones, the product design is very modern and matches Hiroshi Fujiwara's personal style.

I have to say, it's fortunate that these collaborations are not available domestically, otherwise this writer's wallet would be emptied...

Image source: Internet

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