The four-striped Adidas. Pmua shoes. Parada bags. There’s plenty of reasons to dislike knock-off designs. But quality and craftsmanship notwithstanding, perhaps the most disheartening thing about these pretenders are their lack of originality: instead of taking classic designs and re-imagining them, they’ve simply churned out lacklustre imitations. We’ve had enough, and fortunately, PF Flyers agree.

While we shouldn’t get PF Flyers confused with the knock-off racket, their design roots are evident. Take, for example, their newly released Bob Cousy All-American sneaker. With a minimalist design and plastic toe, the shoe is clearly inspired by the Converse Chuck Taylor. But ‘inspiration’ is the operative term here: they’ve added their own noticeable design elements and created a whole new beast. First, they’ve crafted the Cousy with metal mesh nylon, x-ray sheer nylon, and metallic leather – materials seemingly more suited to, ahem, kinkier products. And unlike some of the plasticine-hued offerings dominating the sneaker-sphere, PF Flyers have actually chosen colour ways that work, dressing their sneakers in subtle, complimentary-coloured pastels.

So Canal Street, listen up: this is the proper way to rethink a classic.

PF Flyers Bob Cousy All-American sneakers, $100.00. Available at select retailers. More information available at Pfflyers.com.