Warner Music Australia have gotten together with shoe giant Converse, Sharpie and eBay to launch a one-of-a-kind charity auction to help raise funds for Cancer Awareness Month this October. Musicians and artists from around the world have come together to hand-design unique Converse sneakers, which will be open to bids at an online auction.
Inspired after raising over $120,000 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation in 2012, Warner Music Australia spent the last 18 months working with their partners and an immense list of artists, bands and even Jay & Silent Bob, to create the first ever In Their Shoes initiative.
The impetus behind the initiative came about when Warner Music’s blog Cool Accidents was on-set at an ‘Under the Bridge Session’ with US indie band Grouplove. The crew was taken with the Converse sneakers worn by the band’s tour manager, which turned out to be a design by band vocalist Hannah Hooper.
The next 18 months saw reps from Warner Music Australia visiting local and international artists, requesting their unique design skills in crafting a one-of-a-kind pair of Converse sneakers. Their materials? A pair of plain white Converse sneakers and Sharpie fabric markers. A statement released by Warner explained the process behind the designs, saying “The artists…put their own unique stamp on the sneakers adding colour, design, humour and of course, their very own personal touch.”
This year-and-a-half-long process resulted in an incredible 70 pairs of sneakers designed by a range of artists spanning all genres, from hip hop to pop to indie to swing to drum & bass. Contributing artists include Bruno Mars, The Black Keys, Ed Sheeran, James Blunt, New Order, Kimbra, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Skrillex, Michael Buble, Cold Chisel, Moby, Paramore and many, many more.
These unique collector pieces will be auctioned off at the end of October through a global auction on eBay, facilitated through eBay’s charity partner In Demand, with proceeds going to the National Breast Cancer Foundation or a charity of the artist’s choice. The designs will be gradually unveiled from Monday, 7th October through Cool Accidents’ “Sneaker Peek” website and the official In Their Shoes site.
A public exhibition will be held from noon to 7:00PM on Sunday, 27th October at The Standard in Sydney, you will be able to view all 70 sneaker designs will on display. It’s an ALL AGES event, with entry by gold coin donation. The auction goes live at 6:00PM Thursday, 24th October on eBay with bids starting from $99. The auction closes Tuesday, 29th October and the lucky new owners of the sneakers will have them shipped on Wednesday, 30th October.
See below the Full List of Contributing Artists:
Architecture in Helsinki
Atlas Genius
Billy Bragg
Birdy
The Black Keys
Bloods
Bobby Fox
Bon Iver
Bruno Mars
Busby Marou
Charli XCX
Christina Perri
Cold Chisel
Dannii Minogue
Django Django
Eagle and the Worm
Ed Sheeran
Eliza Doolittle
FIDLAR
Flux Pavilion
Frightened Rabbit
Fun.
Gabrielle Aplin
Gorgon City
Grouplove
Illy
James Blunt
Jason Derulo
Jason Mraz
Jay & Silent Bob
Jeff the Brotherhood
Jim Ward
Josh Ritter
Katie Melua
Kimbra
Lewis Watson
Linkin Park
Lisa Mitchell
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
The Medics
Michael Buble
Moby
Mutemath
Nada Surf
The National
New Order
Nuggets Inspired
Outasight
Owl Eyes
Paramore
Passenger
Periphery
Plan B
Pond
Portugal. the Man
Professor Green
Punch Brothers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Rudimental
Sam & the Womp
Santigold
Sarah Murdoch
Simone Felice
Simple Plan
Skrillex
Stereophonics
Surfer Blood
Swift Kid
Tame Impala
Tegan & Sara
Trey Songz
Wavves
The Wombats
You Am I
Zac Brown Band
