“Los Angeles skateboarding hub Lotties Skateshop has taken to Instagram to tease a trifecta of Vans collaborations. Consisting of fresh takes on the Sk8-Hi, Era and what appears to be a Sk8-Lo, each infused with Lotties’ signature irreverent flair, the co-created footwear offerings are decidedly ready for any and all summertime skate sessions.
Leading things off is the Sk8-Hi, done up in black with grey printed graphics, white contrast stitching and navy trim. This print mixes everything from hand-scrawled lettering to bold figures and the Lotties store phone number. The white Jazz stripe also adds a debossed text hit that reads “Griptape is $5 dipshit,” a cheeky jab at clueless customers that any skate shop or retail store employee can surely appreciate.
Next up is a vivid red Era that features a brown suede heel piece with yet another debossed Lotties graphic in a Goonies-style font. Lastly, the supposed Sk8-Lo swathes its quarter panels in white print and embroiders a jagged, lightning-style Lotties spellout graphic in tonal fashion on the heel.
Full images of the shoes have yet to be revealed, but Lotties has mentioned a July release in its Instagram posts, so you can expect more information soon.”
“KITH‘s latest apparel offerings have employed custom textiles and striking patterns to great effect, enlivening reliable wearables with visual pop. Summer 2020 channels similar inspiration to the garments launched one year ago, taking cues from Moroccan Zellige tile for bold all-over prints that breathe life into a variety of warm weather items, including some special Vans OG Classic Slip-On LX’s, in two different patterns.”
The collection will drop on 6/27 via KITH’s website.
Showcasing Vans’ dedication to artistic collaboration, Vans has partnered with Los Angeles-based artist Mister Cartoon and Japanese streetwear staple NEIGHBORHOOD for the latest Waffle Lovers release.
In a cross-culture collaboration, Mister Cartoon and NEIGHBORHOOD offer up an imagined Liquor Mart called “Uncle Toons Mart.” With a focus on Californian lifestyle, Vans merges this three-way partnership with a two-pack of Vans footwear inspired by each collaborator.
With his artwork largely synonymous with Los Angeles street culture, Mister Cartoon is best known for his tattoo-inspired creative style. Mister Cartoon draws inspiration from his Los Angeles roots while maintaining a globally relevant and respected presence. United by their longtime dedication to craftsmanship and attention to detail, Mister Cartoon and NEIGHBORHOOD find common ground while maintaining their respective cultural relevance.
Vans’ Uncle Toons Mart by NEIGHBORHOOD collection features an Authentic 44 DX accompanied by an Old Skool 36 DX.
The Authentic offers up a visual manifestation of “Uncle Toons Mart”, printed in Mister Cartoon’s classic tattoo-influenced style. The fine line gray and black print is bound with white sidewalls reading “Uncle Toons Mart” and “NEIGHBOORHOOD” in the unmistakable Mister Cartoon cursive typography.
The Old Skool stands on its own with all-over black upper and sidewalls. The embroidered toe caps pay homage to the collaborators, simply reading “Tokyo” and “Los Angeles” on the right and left pair, respectively. Vans’ OId Skool sidestripe draws a connection between the vamp and heel caps where the embroidery reads, “Uncle Toons Mart by NEIGHBORHOOD”. Cast against all-black suede, the purple embroidery offers a bold reminder of Mister Cartoon’s iconic cursive style. Both styles share fully printed sock liners with custom Mister Cartoon artwork.
Uniting the backstreets of Tokyo’s Ura-Harajuku district and the streets of Mister Cartoon’s Los Angeles — Uncle Toons Mart by NEIGHBORHOOD is a serendipitous melding of Tokyo street style and Los Angeles street life.
The Vans x Uncle Toons Mart by NEIGHBORHOOD collection will be available beginning on June 26, 2020. To learn more about the offering and where to purchase, please visitVans.com.
Vans presents the worldwide release of a new surf documentary, “Breaking Boundaries: A Surfboard Drive for Trinidad & Tobago.” Breaking Boundaries spotlights pro surfer Chris Dennis and his ongoing efforts to provide underserved youth in his native country with access to the same escape he credits with saving his life – surfing. The documentary is available to watch now on Vans’ YouTube channel.
“Trinidad & Tobago has two different sides,” Dennis remarks of the unique region. While the country touts’ beautiful beaches and is one of the wealthiest nations in the Caribbean, due in large part to its oil and natural gas reserves, the country’s economic inequality is staggering, and many communities live in poverty. Chris has made it his life mission to share the transformative power of surfing with the youth in these communities.
From the moment he first witnessed surfing, watching in awe from the cliff at the back of his childhood home, Chris was enthralled. After winning the first local contest he entered – Chris jokes about how green he was, having to borrow a rash guard from someone on the beach – he rolled with the momentum and built a surf career for himself out of the most unlikely of circumstances. Ultimately, Dennis found himself traveling the world competing on the World Qualifying Series tour, where he made many lifelong connections. This time of exploration was eye-opening for Chris and his experiences abroad changed the way he thought about the world. His travels brought the social problems his community was experiencing back home into sharper relief.
Returning to Trinidad, Chris began to work directly with the youth in his community. He started small by teaching a couple kids to surf, with no grand plans in mind. In the process, he became more acutely aware of surfing’s value in these young lives, how it provided educational, recreational and even aspirational opportunities that otherwise were unavailable. He witnessed firsthand how surfing steered kids away from crime, abuse, difficult situations at home and other pitfalls of poverty.
As his impromptu surf mentorship program grew and local enthusiasm for surfing swelled, the lack of equipment became a hindrance to the program’s progress. Enter Dane Gudauskas – an old friend from the pro tour – and the non-profit Dane founded with his brothers Tanner and Patrick, the Positive Vibe Warriors Foundation.
Through Dylan Graves and the Gudauskas brothers’ foundation, Chris connected with Waves for Change, a South African non-profit that the Positive Vibe Warriors, in partnership with Vans, worked with on an extremely successful surfboard drive in 2017. The plan was to host a similar drive to bolster Chris’ grassroots efforts. The drive for Trinidad & Tobago united shops and surf communities on both coasts of the US and collected over 200 surfboards. Building on this support, in addition to training and guidance from his new friends at Waves for Change, Chris founded the non-profit surf therapy program Waves for Hope in 2019.
At its core, Breaking Boundaries is about connection, within the global surf community and humanity as a whole. It is the hope that all involved in these board drives that they trigger a domino effect, encouraging surfers the world over to contribute to foundations like the Positive Vibe Warriors, Waves for Change and Waves for Hope, and launch socially beneficial initiatives of their own. By connecting surf scenes across the planet, and the individuals who drive them, we can affect much greater societal change. It’s an ethos that Chris’ believes can ripple far beyond the world of surfing.
“It’s more than surfboards, and it’s more than a board drive to us,” Chris affirms. “It’s a human thing. If we share, and really care for each other, a lot of our problems will be solvable. So, it means the world.”
To learn more about the Vans surfing program, visit vans.com/surf.
“As the graduating Class of 2020 celebrates this important milestone, Vans will be hosting a special virtual grad night on Friday, June 26 at 6pm PST as they embark on the next chapter of their lives.
While circumstances have made students and families celebrate at home, Vans hopes to inspire the graduating Class of 2020 to continue to be changemakers now and into the future. Vans is dedicated to enabling self-expression and creativity among the youth by creating an inclusive community focused on supporting one another and recognizing the global connection between action sports, art, music and street culture.
Virtual grad night speakers such as Steve Van Doren, son of Vans founder Paul Van Doren, Tony Hawk, Ray Barbee, Sami Miro and more, will be sharing personal messages to the graduates, encouraging students to pursue their passions, share helpful tips towards success and what it means to live “Off The Wall.” To conclude the ceremony, there will be a live music performance by King Princess and after party DJ set by SG Lewis.”
“Japanese Americana brand NEIGHBORHOOD returns with a special collaborative capsule, this time with both Mr. Cartoon and lifestyle sneaker brand Vans. The tattoo, graffiti and contemporary artist arrives to this “Uncle Toon’s Mart”-labeled triple collaboration with his signature West Coast-inspired characters and typography, clad atop of Vans’ Authentic 44 DX and Old Skool 36 DX silhouettes.
Of the two pairs, the Authentics show more in the sense of detail, as the “canvas” both literally and metaphorically display his airbrushed Chicano personalities across the entire upper. “NEIGHBORHOOD” cursive font is found along the white midsole adjacent to the Vans binding plate in the rear, while the insole also carries Mr. Cartoon and NBHD branding intermixed with an almost comic-book-like aesthetic. A classic gum sole finalizes the timeless design.
The Old Skool 36 DX pair, on the other hand, shines with material more in mind. An all-black suede upper is contrasted with a smooth leather Jazz Stripe on the lateral and medial sides. Each shoe features heavy embroidery — most prominently
with “LOS ANGELES” and “TOKYO” written across the toe boxes denoting Mr. Cartoon and NEIGHBORHOOD’s hometowns. The rear ankle also adopts embroidered styling, with “Uncle Toon’s Mart” and “By NEIGHBORHOOD” on the left and right shoes respectively. An off-grey/green midsole gives the shoe a bit of weight, along with the black laces and tonal black stitching.
Both pairs are expected to be releasing at NEIGHBORHOOD dealers and independent retailers, such as Allike, on June 26. Pricing is approximately €85-95 EUR (approximately $95-107 USD), depending on local and regional price differences.”
“Continuing to build on its longstanding partnership, Vans and Taka Hayashi are bringing the DIY flavor to its Old Skool and Sk8-Hi models. Tapping the premium Sk8-Hi VLT LX and Old Skool VLT LX editions for the collaborative effort, the new shoes have been doused with a hook and loop upper that allows wearers to slap included velcro patches and more atop.
The upper of both shoes utilize a “Marshmallow” colored velcro tape as its base, further employing red and white contrast stitching. Though absent of the brand’s signature Side Stripe motif on the lateral and medial regions as well as various branding, both shoes come with various velcro patch additives to customize the shoe, with the contrast stitching acting as a blueprint for where to put the individual pieces. The various accessories that come with the pairs call on Taka Hayashi and Van’s floral pattern pedigree as well as love for premium suede, with various toe box, heel, and vamp accessories included to help in spicing up the shoe’s aesthetic.”
Pairs have already shown up at online spots like HBX, but have pretty much sold out in most sizes, but Vault retailers should be getting these sooner than later.
“For Spring 2020, KENZO extends its partnership with Vans by releasing a new footwear collaboration. The Vans Sk8-Hi and Old Skool styles are reworked and repainted with vivid, all-over florals, with each print taken from KENZO’s archives.
The two sneaker models are dropping in three prints each, ranging in men’s and women’s sizing. Accompanying the sneaker range is a capsule of ready-to-wear pieces and accessories designed by Felipe Oliveira Baptista, a collection that also makes use of KENZO’s archival floral prints.
To complement the capsule, KENZO is releasing an exclusive lifestyle item created in collaboration with The Skateroom: a limited edition KENZO skateboard. Only 150 pieces will be made available and 100% of profits from the KENZO skateboard art edition will be donated to a social skate project to empower at-risk youth in Jamaica.
Check out the campaign imagery for the collaborative collection in the gallery above, shot by Ari Marcopoulos of seven skaters in Los Angeles. The capsule will be available in KENZO stores globally and KENZO.com from June 17. See the range at the KENZO Paris flagship store in Le Marais and at Selfridges London, with a special takeover of The Bowl at Selfridges.
Vans’ Loveletters To LGBTQ+ was filmed earlier this year, before the passing of legendary skater and host Jeff Grosso, who was a champion for inclusive skateboarding. We believe this message of unity and equality must be told, and that all voices of the LGBTQ+ community deserve to be heard. Grounded in the brand values of inclusivity and being open to everyone, Vans believes this unifying message must be told, and stands in support of the LGBTQ+ Skate Community as we continue to drive positive change.
Love Letters to Skateboarding is about the love we all have for skateboarding, a commonality we all share regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation. We are all one people with a love for skating. This LGBTQ+ episode is testament to that. On March 31st, 2020 our beloved legendary Vans family member and larger than life defender of skateboarding, Jeff Grosso, passed away. Jeff said this LGBTQ series of Love Letters and Love Notes were the episodes he was most proud of in the 11 years of the show. These were the last episodes he filmed. In the episodes Jeff admits, “I was taught at a young age to speak this way… I have been part of the problem…but I am trying to change…the last thing I want to do is make someone feel uncomfortable or make them not feel safe ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO SKATEBOARDING.” It is a fitting send off to our dear friend who believed that skateboarding is for everyone and all are welcome. Jeff was so stoked on this one— he cried a record 3 times while shooting it!
Vans is thankful to everyone who shared their story, strengthening the community of skateboarding. If you are a person in crisis or in need of a safe and judgement free place to talk, call the TrevorLifeline now at 1-866-488-7386.
May 29 20 under Art, Contests | Comments Off on Strawberry Mansion & George Washington Win $50,000 Each In Vans Custom Culture High School Competition
Strawberry Mansion High School
Vans is delighted to announce Strawberry Mansion High School of Philadelphia, PA and George Washington High School of San Francisco, CA as winners of the eleventh annual Vans Custom Culture competition. Vans Custom Culture was launched to provide high school artists and students a platform to embrace and showcase their creative talents. This year, Vans’ continued its dedication to give back to the arts through its competition where students had a chance to win $50,000 to benefit their school’s art program. Students were asked to use Vans as their canvas and apply their creativity to Vans footwear. New this year, Vans offered an additional $50,000 and made digital submissions available for students who did not have access to a physical pair of shoes. In addition, the top four runner-up schools in each category highlighted below will now receive an artist mentorship program equaling one digital lesson from one of the following Vans’ art ambassadors Kelly Breez, Robin Eisenberg, Todd Francis, Penelope Gazin, Tony Whlgn or Jay Howell in fall 2020.
“Congratulations to both Strawberry Mansion & George Washington High School. The growth of Custom Culture within the past eleven years has far exceeded our expectations and allowed us to make a difference for more students than we could have imagined when we started this program,” said Carly Gomez, VP Marketing of Vans the Americas. “Enabling creativity remains our focus and we quickly pivoted the program so all participating schools could submit their designs even if they were stuck at home. Again, the submissions we received far exceeded our expectations and the participation from students showcased the creative spirit when it’s needed the most.”
Through both the physical and digital submissions it’s evident that the breadth of talent and creativity nationwide has been at an all-time high. This year’s contest has certainly presented some unique obstacles along the way but each high school could not be deterred in showcasing their own individuality and creativity.
Thank you to our partners Yoobi, Americans for the Arts and Journeys who joined us in drawing attention to the importance of art education across the country and provided art materials to all the participating schools.
Vans Custom Culture has grown tenfold since its inception in 2010 reaching hundreds of thousands of students and putting more than $1,000,000 USD back into high school art programs nationwide.
PHYSICAL SHOE – Grand Prize Winners:
Strawberry Mansion High School, Philadelphia PA
PHYSICAL SHOE – 2nd Place Prize Winners:
South Lafourche High School, Cut Off LA
Vallivue East High School, Caldwell ID
DIGITAL SHOE – Grand Prize Winners:
George Washington High School, San Francisco CA
DIGITAL SHOE – 2nd Place Prize Winners:
High School of Telecommunication Arts and Technology, Brooklyn NY
Click here to purchase the ANTIDŌT x Under The Palms Double-Pack!
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