Converse unveils luxe navy SHAI 001 Premium Ink for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s signature line just got its dressiest turn yet. The SHAI 001 Premium Ink wraps his debut Converse model in deep navy, all-leather polish, pushing the shoe from performance basketball hardware into something that can hold its own off court.

The new pair is listed in Navy/Into Void/Navy and carries a $150 price tag, with a retail release set for May 14, 2026 at 7:00 AM PDT. That price keeps it in the sweet spot for a premium signature sneaker: expensive enough to signal intent, but still below the territory where basketball shoes start borrowing too heavily from runway pricing. The distinction here is the material story. Where many performance models lean on mesh, knit, and synthetic overlays, this version uses a no-sew premium leather upper that gives the SHAI 001 a sleeker, more elevated surface.

Converse did not strip away the technical backbone to get there. The shoe keeps the full zipper shroud over the laces, the plush midfoot and collar, a full-length foam midsole, an Air Zoom unit, and a rubber outsole. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s hand-drawn logo still sits on the tongue, with Converse branding at the heel, so the pair still reads as his shoe first. But the leather build changes the temperature completely. It makes the silhouette feel more composed, more deliberate, and far easier to imagine with tailored trousers, wide-leg denim, or the kind of monochrome sportswear that has become part of his own off-court uniform.

That matters because the SHAI 001 has always been more than a standard athlete signature. Converse introduced it as Gilgeous-Alexander’s first signature shoe after he became creative director of Converse Basketball in 2024, and said the design drew from the hand-drawn sketches he shared with the team. It was also a milestone for the brand: Gilgeous-Alexander became the 11th player in Converse basketball history to get a signature model, and the first in 15 years, since Elton Brand’s last one in October 2010. The line first surfaced in the Butter colorway, with later runs including Lux, Camo, and a recent lace-up build on court, showing the silhouette steadily broadening beyond its original shrouded look.

That evolution is what makes the Ink colorway feel important. Converse is not just extending a basketball shoe; it is building a case that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can anchor a premium signature franchise with real fashion weight. The SHAI 001 Premium Ink is the clearest proof yet that Converse wants a seat in the luxury-leaning sneaker conversation, and this time the argument looks convincing.