Converse has spent more than a century being the rebellious alternative to high heels. Vaquera seems to have taken that as a challenge again.
The two brands have reunited for the VX-1 Heel, a wonderfully strange collision between a chunky Y2K skate shoe and a dainty kitten heel that looks exactly as contradictory as it sounds. Fronted by Kim Petras in a surreal dollhouse campaign, the limited-edition design is set to arrive on 27 October.
Naturally, Converse fans have questions and judgement aplenty. Some are already reaching for their wallets, while others would seemingly prefer the VX-1 stayed inside that tiny house.
A Kitten Heel on a Skate Shoe Because Why Not?
The VX-1 Heel takes inspiration from Converse's archival CS Pro-1 skate shoe, keeping plenty of its chunky DNA before things take a sharp turn south. The design features a suede upper, padded mesh tongue and collar, oversized laces, Star Chevron branding, and an unexpected kitten heel underneath it all. The result looks like a skate shoe and a pump somehow got their wardrobes mixed up and decided to commit to it.
Vaquera first unveiled the experimental silhouette during its Fall 2026 runway show in Paris, continuing the New York label's habit of stretching familiar Converse designs into increasingly unconventional territory. The brands previously collaborated on exaggerated XXXHi and XHi Slouch Wedge versions of the Chuck Taylor All Star.
Fans Are Somewhere Between 'OBSESSED' and 'FUGLY'
If the goal was to make a shoe nobody could feel neutral about, consider the assignment understood and aced. Converse's Instagram comments became their own miniature fashion jury with opposing opinions.
One fan was obviously on board with the design, declaring 'OBSESSED 😍😍😍,' while another wrote, 'oh i'm gagging this is so cute.'
'A neeeeedddd,' another demanded, while someone else was already prepared to surrender their money: 'Someone grab my purse'.
Then there was the other side of the shoe rack that did not exactly see the vision. 'These are FUGLY🤣 wth is this,' one commenter wrote. Someone else chimed in, asking Kim Petras the question probably haunting more than a few Converse aficionados: 'kimmy what r thoseeeeee.'
As the rabbit hole of commentary deepened, some got more specific with their comparisons. 'Grandpa loafers,' one person decided, while another thought the VX-1 was 'giving Bowling Shoes. 🎳'
The Weirdness Is the Point
To be fair to the VX-1, looking a little wrong appears to be precisely what makes it right for Vaquera. The label has built its Converse collaborations around warping recognisable sportswear proportions. Placing a delicate heel beneath an intentionally bulky skate silhouette creates a visual contradiction that gets people either buying, staring, or somehow doing both. The campaign takes the joke even further by placing Petras inside a miniature dollhouse, making both the singer and her shoes look comically gigantic.
Converse calls the VX-1 a 'larger-than-life silhouette,' and the reaction has been just as oversized. Whether the VX-1 belongs in your wardrobe, a bowling alley, or Kim Petras' tiny dollhouse is between you and your shoe rack. When it comes down to it, the Converse x Vaquera design has people either head over heels or running for the hills.
