Tired of picking out what to wear the textbook kind of way? Well, it’s high time you switch things up and take cues from these new generation superstars who are changing the way they dress up—that is, by starting from the bottom.
Related: Are These Blast From The Past Pair Of Converse Sneakers Really The Best Ever?
Trust that the Millennials will take a cultural reference and turn it into a credo or a guiding force. For the young’uns, it isn’t just a Drake song, but a way of life. “Started from the bottom now we’re here,” pipes the Canadian multi-hyphenate. While he may be talking back to his naysayers about where he is in life right now, detailing in poetic detail a unique struggle of working his way to the top, the titular phrase has latched onto a generation that relate to it in more ways than one. Sure, not everyone may have had to slug it out Drake-style, but each battle is not without merit.
Take for example the seemingly mundane, but highly psychological act of dressing up. A mood changer and springboard for the day by every possible virtue, it can be precisely just that—run-of-the-mill. What with the time-accepted template of putting oneself together starting from the top to bottom. There’s nothing wrong it, of course. But it is at this point, pretty ordinary. And in a world where one runs on the currency of uniqueness and diversity, who wants that?
Trading in their groans, huffs, and puffs, a motley crew of distinct young men making their marks in their respective industries are challenging the norm and daring to turn tradition on its head—almost literally. Starting from the bottom, with their favorite pair of Converse Chucks as the anchor to the look, they each work their way up one article of clothing at a time until they are ready to take on the rest of the day ahead. You know, just like how one would slowly and surely climb up the rigors and rungs of life to get to their desired top of the world.
Enlisting Ryle Tan, Markus Peterson, Miguel Tanfelix, and Alex Diaz, Converse introduces us to its #ChucksFirst campaign, a re-education of sorts into the fine art of dressing up in the modern, Millennial (and Gen Z) mindset. Irreverently crushing the stereotypes by creating their own guidelines, these rag-tag gang are inherently showing us that there is no one way of traversing through the motions of life, whether that be suiting up or otherwise.
Starting from the bottom isn’t a by-the-way tidbit in the entire framework of the narrative—for them, it is the story. This isn’t just a superficial scratching of the surface by way of style. With the challenge of starting from the bottom working their way up, Converse makes us re-think the way we look at fashion altogether. This time, it’s no longer just about the fashion—it’s about you. And the heritage brand has always made a case for this. Building from the foundation, moving up at a steady pace makes sure that there are no shortcuts made in the process. Listen, in everything it is all about the hard work.
Taking charge of their style and situational points-of-view, with Chucks laced up to utmost security, these boys are cementing their places in the grander scheme of things. Whether it’s navigating the glittering but tempestuous waters of show-business, sweating it out in fitness, or sifting through many a pop culture keypoints, Miguel Tanfelix, Ryle Santiago, Alex Diaz and Markus Peterson are at this point future greats who can very proudly say that they started from bottom. And trust that they will be up there someday soon. Or wait, aren’t they there already?
