Happy 50th, Vans! See 50 Rare Pairs From the Archives of the Iconic Shoe Inline

“In honor of Vans’s 50th anniversary, I created a special shoe for all of our Vans family members and employees. This Authentic uses iconic Vans logos and prints from the past 50 years, and it is marked with a special Vans Family heel scab.” “This is a pair of Authentics that was hand-painted and gifted to me by a local artist. While I am on the road, I sometimes get gifts from Vans fans that use our Vans as a canvas for their own artwork.” “This is a special limited-edition shoe that we made for the premiere of Lords of Dogtown in Park City, Utah. The Authentic is royal blue with Dogtown emblems all over it.” “This is a pair of shoes that I had custom-made for me out of a piece of Hoffman fabric.” “I bought fabric while I was on vacation in Australia and brought it home to make a pair of custom shoes.” “This is a special pair of Made in the USA platform Authentics that were my daughter Kristy’s when she was young.” “When Sean Penn wore the Checkerboard Slip-On on his head in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, it really put Vans on the map. [This style] will always be one of my favorite pairs of Vans.” “I have a sports jacket with this graphic printed on the back, so I had a pair of custom Slip-Ons made to match.” “I had a special pair of Slip-Ons made for Eric Wiseman, the president of VF Corp., and the VF crew to welcome them to the Vans family. VF acquiring Vans in 2004 was a huge turning point for our brand, since it has helped us make it to our 50th anniversary.” “This is a custom pair of shoes I had made out of Hoffman fabric because I was invited to a poker tournament during the SIA trade show. These must have been my lucky shoes, because I won the tournament and was invited to the World Series of Poker that year.” “I purchased some raw deer hide while traveling and brought it back with me to make a set of custom Slip-Ons in navy, white, and golden yellow.” “I am always experimenting with denim to find just the right wash and detail for a pair of Vans. This was a pair I made out of raw denim as a test.” “In 1964, my family and I were lucky to meet the Duke [Kahanamoku, of Hawaiian shirt fame] in Huntington Beach, California, and my father made custom Vans out of the Duke’s Hawaiian-print shirts for him and the surf team.” “The Slip-On is my favorite Vans model of all time, so when we introduced the Classic Lites collection, I was blown away by how lightweight we were able to make our shoes, and just how comfortable they are.” “This model of the Serio was made for baseball players so that it could be worn on the field. The shoes are made of leather, with the Vans flying V logo and cleats on the bottom.” “This collection of chukka-inspired boots was created just for me. I had black croc-embossed leather, micro-woven leather, and even flames!” “This pair of shoes never went into production, but it is one of the strongest pairs of shoes we have ever produced! It’s made of full-grain leather with a double-reinforced toe. The leather graphic along the sides was inspired by engine headers that were on muscle cars.” “I created custom shoes for my daughter Kristy’s wedding in 2010. My son-in-law, Roy, and all of his groomsmen wore these custom Checkerboard Slip-Ons with their suits.” “In 2013, I was honored to receive the Eric Stricker award from the TransWorld Skateboading editorial staff, in honor of TWS editor Eric Stricker, for all of my work in the skateboarding industry. I had these shoes made exclusively for Eric’s wife and myself.” “This is a special pair of Vans that my son-in-law, Roy, had made for me when they told me that my daughter Kristy was expecting my grandson, Baylen.” “Every year at the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, we host a golf tournament for all of our Vans family in town for the competition. This year we created exclusive Vans ‘Off the Ball’ golf shoes that had our checkerboard pattern and side stripe to wear on the putting green.” “Vans has a long-standing history with Disneyland. In the ’80s, we created special shoes that were worn by Disney park employees as part of their costumes, and later we released a specialty capsule of Vault by Vans x Disney shoes that were so popular that they sold out. I was very excited that we released a Classic in 2015 that everyone was able to enjoy. We even got Mickey Mouse in a pair of red sneakers!” “We have partnered with Pendleton to release a special capsule of Vans that benefit the Nibwaakaawin’s All Nation Skate Jam. The program works to empower native youth, inspire creativity and pride, and promote physical activity through skateboarding.” “We partnered with comic book artist Robert Crumb on a special collection of Vans that featured his artwork on our footwear silhouettes. The Fritz the Cat model was my favorite from this collection.” “Our Vault by Vans line is our premium take on Vans classic footwear silhouettes. The Classic Slip-On LX uses our traditional Slip-On form but with upgraded leather.” “We were incredibly honored to partner with the Huichol Tribe to present a collection of handcrafted footwear that featured their intricately colorful handwoven yarn and beaded detailing atop our Vault footwear styles.” “Taka Hayashi is a talented designer who Vans is lucky to have as part of our footwear design team. He creates specialty capsule collections within our Vault by Vans line that draw inspiration from his travels and cultural upbringing. This pair has beautiful etched Horween leather detailing.” “This is an early pair of our Slip-On LX from our Vault by Vans line, made with Italian leather. The sleek look of these shoes always makes them a favorite whenever I find myself wearing a suit.”

Happy 50th, Vans! See 50 Rare Pairs From the Archives of the Iconic Shoe Inline

Vans Era Decon CA (2014)

Vans Authentic (2016)

Vans Authentic (early 2000s)

Vans Authentic (2001)

Vans Authentic (early 2000s)