In a full circle moment, designer Nikolaj Hansson (a lifelong skater turned tennis fan) has found himself working on a shoe that he skated in as a youth. The founder of Copenhagen’s street-tennis brand, Palmes Society, has collaborated with Converse on the relaunch of their iconic Jack Purcell PDM silhouette. It’s a shoe with a 90-year history and a shapeshifting ability to leap across cultural divides. Ahead of its release, we spoke with Nikolaj about the similarities between skating and tennis, why sports style lovers are gravitating more to worn-in than box-fresh looks and his recommendations on the best tennis and skate spots to hit up.
BAGEL: Jack Purcell has moved between sport, prep, Hollywood, punk and skateboarding. What’s your own relationship with the sneaker?
Nikolaj: There’s a photo on my Instagram from 2012 of me skating in Jack Purcells. It’s never been a skate shoe, but I liked the shape and how it felt.
BAGEL: How do you create a fresh take on a shoe with so much history?
Nikolaj: I like things that feel homemade, human and used. I feel like more people are moving in that direction and wearing vintage because we crave something that feels lived-in. Anything with emotion is something we’re going to gravitate towards more.
With the washed, dark-green canvas, I like that it looks like a shoe you might have worn while playing tennis with your friends in the summer of the 1950s. The contrast stitching is a really effective way of adding a bit of emotion without making too much noise.
What I like about the blue suede is that the more you scuff it, the more nuances appear in the fabric. I wanted the shoes to look as though they had a past. I fucked them up intentionally.
BAGEL: What are the similarities between skating and tennis?
Nikolaj: I skated from the age of 10 until I was in my early twenties. When I started playing tennis, I realised that a lot of the mechanics and emotions were similar. It’s only you on the court, and it’s only you on the board. You have to commit.
You have to surrender to the unconscious because, if you think too much about how you’re going to kickflip a staircase, you’re going to slam. It’s the same with tennis: the worst shots we hit are the ones we overthink.
Both require you to reach that flow state, to surrender to your body’s mechanics, muscle memory and intuition. To me, they’re both like dancing: an expression of your creative individuality and who you are as a person. One of my quirkiest friends is also the quirkiest tennis player. The same goes for skating.
The Converse x Palmes Jack Purcell PDM drops on 14 September at Converse, Palmes and selected stockists worldwide.
HIT THE COURT OR THE RAMP
Nikolaj Hansson shares his favourite tennis courts and skateparks.
Courts
The indoor court at Kjøbenhavns Boldklub in Copenhagen. It’s one of continental Europe’s oldest sporting clubs. I love playing on the indoor courts in winter, then heading to the sauna and taking a cold dip in the outdoor pool.
The court at The Courts in Los Angeles. It’s a breath-taking dream of a court.
The court where my Danish friends Simon and Mads Hegelund play in Silver Lake. It overlooks the reservoir.
Skateparks
The old bus-terminal curb spot in Milton Keynes. I had family there years ago and loved skating it.
The dodgy wooden ramps behind the sports centre in my childhood town.
Whichever driveway I found myself skating in throughout my childhood.