Design

Goodbye Vans, It’s Been A Great Roll

by The Editors on February 21, 2024

This new Vibram soled “Half Cab Reissue 33’ shoe” that Vans has dropped is the latest sad attempt to correct the brand’s sales freefall. It’s called OTW by Vans and it is an attempt by VF Corp to force the Vans brand back into mainstream fashion relevance. Apparently, the execution of this VF force has been left up to this guy:

Ian Ginoza, VP of Creative Direction for OTW by Vans, said: “OTW by Vans is a frontier for progression, experiences and collaboration. The skateboarding mindset is core to Vans, and OTW enriches that spirit through a distinct perspective to propel culture forward.”

If anyone can pull it off Ginoza can. He has deep roots in sneakers and culture marketing, however using a tag like “skateboarding mindset” as sales euphemism for “not skateboarding” has never ended well. Read the whole piece if you’d like. And if these become Vans best selling shoes ever, we will apologize. Promise.

[Link: The Industry.Fashion]

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Skateboard at the London Design Museum

by The Editors on October 18, 2023

A new exhibition titled Skateboard at the London Design Museum investigates the roll skateboarding has played in the world of youth culture, fashion design, and sports in general. Currated by Jonathan Olivares, the show is sponsored by Converse and will feature a book by Phaidon (Paul ‘The Professor’ Schmitt wrote the intro).

Skateboard examines the fundamentality of its namesake device. The show is an object study at its core; it tracks the backstory of the board across generations’ worth of iterations (one 2000’s deck features baroque squiggles called “money shapes” on its edge, for instance). Yet it also provides a crisp, clear flow of the world-building that has occurred around the apparatus. . . Over 100 chronologically advancing decks, their widely varied graphics, images sourced from over 40 photographers in multiple decades, and spin-off ephemera (such as zines and decals) illustrate this rise of skateboarding not only as an athletic discipline but also as an aspirational lifestyle. A 1960s-era Life cover, for example, shows a woman in neat white trousers riding against a big blue sky–while doing a handstand on her board, no less.

For more info on the show which opens October 20, 2023 (and how to visit if you’re in London town) please click the link.

[Link: Vogue]

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Nic Sauve’s Modern Mountain Cabin

by The Editors on February 22, 2023

Snowboarder Nic Sauve and his ER doc wife, Geneviève Gaumond, have built a stylish little mountain get away in the hills on Mont Tourbillon near Lac-Beauport, Quebec, according to a story in Maclean’s.

Inspired by their mutual love of Québécois architect Pierre Thibault, Sauve and Gaumond envisioned a tiny two-floor retreat that used only three materials—bleached wood, grey aluminum and white tile—to minimize visual noise. The build cost roughly $400,000. “We wanted the design, textures and colours of the chalet to be linear, sober and clean, so the house kind of fades away and lets you connect with the surrounding nature,” says Sauve.

The cabin is currently being rented out on AirBnB so if you’re in the area maybe you can stay there. . . or in one of the Sauve’s two other modern masterpieces. All the info is right here: chaletsmicroelement.com.

[Link: Maclean’s]

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Saudi Arabia Slides Into Winter Sports

by The Editors on October 6, 2022

Yeah, so how does a desert nation host an “Asian Winter Games“? They do it with an overwhelming blast of design, technology, and most importantly money ($500 Billion). The games are scheduled for 2029 and the venue will reportedly be completed in 2026, according to a post on dezeen.com.

The resort, which will “offer year-round outdoor skiing” is being built around 50 kilometres from the Gulf of Aqaba coast in a mountainous area that has elevations ranging from 1,500 metres to 2,600 metres. . .It will be the first location in the country where outdoor skiing will be possible. Named Trojena, the development is being designed by a team of architects from all over the world including UK studio Zaha Hadid Architects, Dutch practice UNStudio, international studio Aedas, German practice LAVA and Australian studio Bureau Proberts.

Too many cooks in the snow kitchen? Maybe. The resort will reportedly include 3,600 hotel rooms and 2,200 homes. How many times have we heard the promise of year-a-round snowboarding? Does Xanadu ring any bells? How about the Gotcha Glacier? No? Well, maybe this time it will be different. Fingers crossed. Not holding breath. Oh, and the IOC is apparently not too happy that they weren’t consulted about any of this. But aren’t they always.

And no, we have not forgotten about Jamal Khashoggi and neither should anyone else.

[Link: dezeen.com]

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Post Olympic News Lister Time

by The Editors on February 14, 2022

It’s newsies time. Obviously, this list is overloaded with Olympic content since that’s what snowboarding is up to right now. And Shaun White is the biggest news from Chinaland. Shaun, and the terrible judging. But, oddly, few outlets wrote about that. Censorship? Probably not, but you know the journalists who are visiting China and hope to stay and/or return to the country don’t want to upset the PRC media watchers. Click the link for the list. And get going. This is enough to make it look like you’re working for the rest of the afternoon!

[click to continue…]

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Vans Tired of Walmart’s Copy Crap

by The Editors on February 9, 2022

Vans is not letting Walmart off the hook in their blatant copying of Vans shoes (see the images above), according to a story on The Fashion Law. Vans filed a suit last year against Walmart’s rather obvious design borrowing, however, Walmart apparently complained that Vans “waited too long” to file suit. Vans believes “a preliminary injunction to block Walmart from continuing to sell “copycat” versions of “virtually all of [its] bestselling shoes” is necessary.” Can’t really blame them.

Vans has since lodged its reply to Walmart’s memo in opposition, taking issue with Walmart’s arguments, including the retailer’s claims that Vans lacks robust trademark rights, primarily for its OLD SKOOL sneaker. Looking specifically to the OLD SKOOL mark, Vans states that “based on longstanding use dating back more than 40 years, substantial sales and advertising, unsolicited media references, popular culture usage, and intentional copying by Walmart, Vans is likely to succeed in demonstrating that the OLD SKOOL trade dress has acquired secondary meaning.” In terms of sales, Vans says that it has generated “$10 billion in lifetime sales and current revenue of over $1 billion each year in U.S. sales of shoes bearing the OLD SKOOL trade dress.” 

This entire case is just another example of how suspect Walmart’s entire business model really is. And we’re stoked that Vans is taking it to them full press. Click the link for the rest of the story.

[Link: The Fashion Law]

 

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David Carson Teaches Graphic Scrambling

by The Editors on April 26, 2021

David Carson is a design genius. From creating the iconic TransWorld Skateboarding logo, to work with Ray Gun, Beach Culture, and Surfer magazines Carson has done more to rearrange the visual language of action sports than anyone else. What he does looks easy. How hard is it to cut stuff up, rearrange it, then slap it back down? But, as anyone who has tried knows, getting something that looks good (and communicates on a deeper level) is difficult. Now, thanks to MasterClass we all can learn the basics from the man himself. Click the link for all the details. Or click here to buy his most recent book.

[Link: MasterClass via Beach Grit]

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Upcycled Jones Snowboard Skateboards

by The Editors on February 11, 2021

Everyone needs a roll around skateboard and why not have one built out of rejected Jones Snowboards. Now, thanks to the French it is all possible.

Adrien Reguis and Vincent Gelin founded NoK, a company based in Grenoble, France that specializes in making skateboards out of factory rejects and warranty snowboards. Using a CNC cutting table, NoK chops cruiser skateboard decks out of the middle of a snowboard. The repurposed skate decks are then fitted with new grip tape, trucks and wheels to make a unique and high performance sidewalk surfer. It’s the ultimate upcycle for a snowboard that would have otherwise ended up in the dumpster!

For the rest of the NoK story, please click the link.

[Link: Jones Snowboards]

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Aaron Draplin + Smith Optics = Must Buy

by The Editors on October 30, 2020

Do we need to say more? Thought not. Get them while they’re hot. Aaron Draplin designed Smith goggles for the new season. We love Aaron, you love Aaron. Check ’em out. Very Orange and Thick Lines up for your consumption. They are in limited supply, so you might want to order them now. (Don’t worry about taking ours, we already bought ’em. . . big brain!)

Oh, and if you want to know what Aaron has learned since March 15, 2020 (and it is a stunning amount of good shit), pop on over to Adobe for his most recent video missive.

[Link: Smith Optics]

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Nyjah’s House In Architectural Digest

by The Editors on December 26, 2019

Nyjah Huston’s new pad in Laguna Beach, California was an architecturally significant place even before he remodeled it up to his personal steez. Old media stalwart Architectural Digest was invited to take a tour. Always the proper host, Nyjah showed it all off quite nicely. Watch the video. It’s good.

[Link: Architectural Digest]

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