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A shoe cut to read like a pump now wears the fabric of an evening jacket. The All Star Pointedtoe OX lands in black and vanilla velvet on September 25.
Three months ago, Converse Japan took the most familiar rubber toe cap in footwear and sharpened it to a point. The All Star Pointedtoe series arrived on June 19 in low-top OX and high-top HI versions, priced at ¥8,800, with the OX offered in white, black, classic red and a black monochrome option, as covered at launch by Hypebeast. The toe narrows to a tip rather than rounding off, and the vamp pinches in at the midfoot, so from above the shoe traces something closer to a ballet flat or a court pump than a basketball shoe. Converse Japan’s own copy for the series leans into that: the brand describes the shape as a dressy rearrangement of the All Star, and it finished the sidewall tape on the canvas pairs with a glossy treatment to push the point home.
Signal. What happened: Converse Japan is rel a velvet edition of its All Star Pointedtoe OX, three months after the canvas series debuted. Exact object: the ALL STAR POINTEDTOE VELVET OX in Black (31319180) and Vanilla(31319181), with a velvet upper, rubber outsole and Indonesian manufacture. When and where: September 25, 2026, through Converse Japan’s official online shop, at ¥10,780 including tax, in sizes 22.0cm to 26.0cm. Source: Converse Japan’s own product listicle for both colorways, cross-checked against a Japan market rel notice. Why it matters: the Pointedtoe was built to pull the All Star toward dress shoes, and swapping canvas for velvet is the most direct way to finish that thought heading into the party season.
A side profile of a classic off-white low-top canvas sneaker with matching laces and a white rubber sole, set against a clean white background.
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Velvet changes how the shape reads. On canvas, the pointed toe looks like a clever edit. In a pile fabric that catches light unevenly across the vamp, it starts to look like something meant for a dinner reservation rather than a commute. Converse Japan calls out the material’s sheen specific, describe the result as refined, and the shoe keeps the rest of the All Star vocabulary intact: the rubber toe cap, the foxing stripe, the eyelets and the flat vulcanized profile.
Two colorways make up the rel. Black is the obvious one, a tonal evening shoe that will sit comfortable under wide trousers or a slip skirt. Vanilla is the more unusual pick, a soft off-white velvet that reads warmer than the off-white canvas of the June launch. Converse Japan’s own storefront image metadata files the Vanilla pair under white sneakers, which gives a sense of how pale the shade runs.
Each box includes a spare set of laces cut in the opposite tone. Black pairs ship with an extra white set, and Vanilla pairs ship with an extra black set. It is a small detail, but a practical one: a white lace on black velvet shifts the shoe back toward its sneaker roots, while the tonal default keeps it closer to a dress flat.
The price reflects the upgrade. At ¥10,780, the velvet OX sits ¥1,980 above the ¥8,800 launch price of the canvas Pointedtoe, a modest premium for a fabric change. For context, Converse Japan’s current All Star range runs from ¥7,700 for the basic CL OX to ¥30,250 for the Made in Japan leather All Star J OX, so the velvet pair lands toward the accessible end of the catalog.
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A shoe like this is easier to understand once you know who makes it. Converse in Japan is not run from Boston. Converse, founded in 1908 in Malden, Massachusetts, became a subsidiary of Nike in 2003. In Japan, however, the trademark belongs to the trading house ITOCHU, with Converse Japan Co., Ltd. operating as master licensee, according to ITOCHU’s own corporate announcements. That structure lets Converse Japan develop its own product line, which is why its catalog carries models and variations never sold in the United States or Europe.
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The Pointedtoe is a clear example. It exists alongside other Japan-only All Star families such as the European-lean All Star Coupe, the lightweight All Star Light and the Made in Japan All Star J, each a separate answer to the question of what else a 1917 basketball shoe can become. The Pointedtoe’s answer is the most fashion-forward of the group: rather than refining comfort or mat, it changes the shape itself.
Sizing runs from 22.0cm to 26.0cm across nine sizes, and neither listing offers anything larger. The velvet treatment is also confined to the low-top cut: both product pages describe only the OX in two hue, with no mention of a velvet version of the high-top Pointedtoe HI. That leaves the canvas HI in white, black and classic red as the only way to get the pointed toe above the ankle for now.
The product copy is short, but its choices are telling. Converse Japan does not describe the velvet pairs as sneakers dressed up for a season. It describes them as a dressier All Star, full stop, which is how the whole Pointedtoe project has been framed since June.
Both colorways were listed as coming soon on Converse Japan’s online store at the time of writing, with every size marked unavailable ahead of the September 25 rel. Converse Japan also offers members a free size exchange within 14 days of shipment on footwear bought through its official store, though some items are excluded from that service.
