Chicago-born barber and image consultant Ibn Jasper grew up in the 80s watching basketball. The lineups back then were filled with great NBA players including Julius Erving aka Dr. J. – the first basketball player to dunk from the foul line. What caught the young Jasper’s attention wasn’t just Dr. J’s great, free-flowing style playing but also his sophisticated style, and his tribute to the player is channeled through his latest collaborative rendition of the Converse Pro Leather basketball shoe.

First released in 1976, the Converse Pro Leather was the lightest basketball shoe on the market and worn by some of the best players including Erving before its discontinuation in 1983. For this collaboration, Jasper has taken inspiration of a photo of Erving walking into the arena with an all-white outfit, “He looks like he just stepped off of the runway. I thought to myself: ‘How can I distill this image and vibe into a collection?’” The white shoe also serves as a trophy that pays homage to Erving’s legacy to the game, with roman numerals of 1976 and 1984 – the birth of Pro Leather and a significant year in Erving’s career respectively – embossed to give the contemporary design a historical weight, and it’s finished with  zippered tongue, black accents, and pink lining.