The humble sneaker has come a long way in the past few decades.  First, sports superstars like basketball legend Michael Jordan got in the act, adding their famous names to new designs featuring cutting-edge, performance-enhancing technologies…or at least claiming to.  But the latest trend has designers – not sports stars – designing sports shoes, bringing cutting edge style and must-have fashion sense to the court, track and field.  The latest of these is the Converse Onyx, a punked-out version of the classic Converse Chuck Taylor basketball shoe created by award-winning designer James Owen.

Resplendent in black, silver and bright blue, the Onyx maintains the Chuck's familiar high-top silhouette, but dresses it up with a neo-Victorian floral pattern molded into the sole and on the side of the shoe.  It's definitely not Owen's first foray into the wide world of sports – over the past 14 years he's developed products and strategies for both Converse and Nike, along with a laundry list of household name brands including Mattel, Michelin, HP, Intel, FedEx and more.  Some of The American designer's other notable creations include the Leo1 – a sleek zebrawood cat scratching post that will eliminate the need for the shag carpet-covered eyesores forever, and the Groovemixer, a handheld MP3 player that turns the owner into a musical mix master.  No word yet if the Onyx will follow its fellow Owen creations into the design Hall of Fame…but they sure do look good on the court!