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One of the (many, many) things that helped Stranger Things catch the public's eye was its familiarity with all the brands millennials grew up with. Eggos play an important role in season 1, and characters have been riding around on Mongoose bicycles since the show began. Usually, those brands don't pay for product placement, but there is one particular example of a beloved trademark not just appearing, but actually assisting in the making of one of the Netflix show's seasons. 

That brand was Converse, and according to one source smack dab in the heart of Stranger Things production, the shoe line actually developed custom footwear for season 4. Allow us to explain.

The story comes from Stranger Things costume designer Amy Parris, who's been the series since season 3, and whose other credits include Outcast, Westworld, and Justified. Parris spoke to Collider all the way back in 2022, during a visit the outlet took to the set of then-filming season 4. Appropriately, the conversation focused on how season 4 would handle its colors, particularly in how they applied to the plot.

"We’re gonna definitely incorporate school colors," Parris told her interviewer, "You know, especially in Hawkins it’s during the day of a pep rally, so we’re gonna get to do a lot of spirit wear. ... Converse helped us make some shoes in three different colorways."

"Colorways," for those of us not in the know (read: me as of 20 minutes ago), are specific patterns, styles, or designs of colors on a product. The term is used in the fashion industry a lot and, by extension, the costume departments of movie and TV productions.

Even though Parris doesn't say this outright, we can speculate that the Hawkins "pep rally" she's referring to is from chapter one of season four, The Hellfire Club. Scrub through that scene to see if you can spot the Hawkins gang sporting Converse's addition to the Stranger Things universe. As for where to find Stranger Things Converse in our universe, well, we're not sure that's possible.

Though the shoe's must exist somewhere (perhaps in the cast's collection, perhaps in a Netflix storage facility), the shoes that appeared in the show's fourth season don't appear to be available to buy online, nor do replicas of the same (sorry, that header image is our own creation, not official Netflix branding). Searching for "Stranger Things Converse" to buy online only yields (admittedly gorgeous) custom painted Converse with Stranger Things designs. 

But hey, there's still one season of Netflix's most popular scifi show in store. Who's to say that Converse won't be producing more Sneaker Things for the final season? Let's just hope that if they do, we can get our hands on a pair.

Stranger Things season 5 comes to Netflix in 2025.

As we all collectively wait for Stranger Things season 5, here's the keys to getting ready:

• How to watch Stranger Things in chronological or release order
• Getting to know the Stranger Things season 5 cast
• There needs to be more death in Stranger Things, says co-star Gaten Matarazzo
• The Stranger Things time jump between season 4 and 5 has been confirmed by Netflix - and it raises some serious questions
• "They land the plane," David Harbour describes the Stranger Things finale, which he calls its "best episode"