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.
It begins with Ween and only gets better from there. Just a little reminder of how good Curren Caples is (as if we’d forgotten: thanks Gary). That’s all. Back to work.
Walmart, the massive, big box, retailer, and obesity promoter, is a hulking bag of putrescence for so many reasons that it’s not worth listing any of them. But here’s one anyway. Back in February 2022 we mentioned a story about Vans filing a lawsuit against the monster retailer for knocking off most of Vans shoes.
Vans won an injunction against the company in March 2022 that required Walmart to stop selling the infringing shoes. But did Walmart follow that injunction? Of course not, according to a story on Reuters.
Vans told the court Friday that Walmart was “doubling down” with new shoes that are “even more similar” to its designs. It also said that Walmart was still selling other shoes that had been banned by the order. . . Vans’ court filing said Walmart has told the company it would stop selling the infringing shoes but “has not shown that it is actually putting its words into action.”
Vans wants Walmart to be fined $3,000 a day until they stop selling the shoes. But that probably won’t even stop the retail whale from continuing to plow ahead through the waters of copyright infringement, because why should they stop? They’re making boatloads of money. And they do the same thing in almost every category they sell in.
We’ve got no backstory on this one. We left the controls for a few days to catch the tail end of the winter that wasn’t and celebrate Holi while avoiding the St. Pats day madness only to return to news that VF Corp chose March 17, 2022 to announce that the company had named long-time Vans (and former Vans president) Kevin Bailey as the new global brand president for Vans.
This appointment marks Bailey’s return to the Vans brand after holding several enterprise leadership roles at VF. Bailey was Vice President of Retail for Vans when the brand was acquired by VF in 2004. He was later appointed as President of Vans, a role he held from 2009 to 2016. Under Bailey’s leadership, revenue for the brand more than doubled to $2.2 billion.
As for Vans comment on former president Doug Palladini (pictured right)? Well, they thanked him for his dedication and passionate service for the past 18 years and wished him “all the best” in his next chapter. Wish we had more info. If you see something, say something. Please. For the official word from VF click the link.
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.
Circle Jerks are back with a whole new video for Wild In The Streets directed by Atiba Jefferson and filmed by Ty Evans (who were 5 and 8 years old in 1982 when the album came out). Chomp on that while you count the cameos!
Thanks to a collaboration between Vans, Leica, and Ray Barbee you can get a checkerboard Leica digital camera for only $1695 or so while supplies last (only 800 were made) according to a story on Design Milk.
The limited-edition Leica D-Lux 7 Vans x Ray Barbee stands out aesthetically (the design as a whole not only reps Vans iconic pattern, but also has a mod-ska vibe to it), but the camera specs remains indistinguishable from its serially produced predecessor. . . Built around a large Micro Four Thirds sensor and fast zoom lens with a full-frame-equivalent range of 24 – 75 mm, the digital camera would make for one capable street photography camera, one perhaps too high end and precious for bringing along for skating adventures, even if its capable of recording in 4K video in 24, 25, or 30 fps as well as recording in 4K photo capture modes.
Looks cool. The capsule also includes shoes. Maybe Vans will send the whole set you know, to test out.
Exquisite Corpse, from the original French term “Cadavre Exquis” is a method in which a collection of words or images is collectively assembled. Each collaborator adds to a composition in sequence, being allowed to see only the end of what the previous person contributed. . . This film was made by women of the Vans Surf team & friends in an attempt to reach across the seas, and create a piece that deeply connected us. . . .Original soundtrack featuring Lee-Ann Curren, Hanna Scott, AYO, Glenn Michael Van Dyke and Lena Simon of Kairos Creature Club, Chloé Thévenin, Maia Ibar, Thee Leatherettes, Big Joanie, Clovis Donizetti, Cécile Mestelan and more…
With art and music and some French thrown in for all the extra special feels.
We were saddened to learn that Vans co-founder Paul Van Doren died yesterday, Thursday, May 6, 2021. He was 90.
“In 1966, Paul, his brother James Van Doren, and their friends Gordon, Ryan Emmert and Serge D’Elia became partners in opening the first Vans store, according to Wikipedia. It took a year to build and set up the factory at 704 East Broadway in Anaheim.”
A week and a half ago Paul’s memoir Authentic was released.
In Authentic, he shares his unlikely journey from high-school dropout to sneaker-industry legend. A blue-collar kid with no higher education and zero retail experience, Van Doren started out as a 16-year-old “service boy” at a local rubber factory. Over the next few decades, he leveraged a knack for numbers, a genius for efficiency, and the know-how to make a great canvas tennis shoe into an all-American success story. What began as a family shoe business has today evolved into a globally recognized brand with billions of dollars of annual revenue.
Thanks Paul for all you did for all of us and for living an incredible, authentic life. Our thoughts are with the entire Van Doren family. If you have a Paul Van Doren story to share, please leave it in the comments.
Vans is promoting creativity as mental health during the pandemic with their second annual Vans Checkerboard Day on November 19, 2020. Join in and Vans will donate $1 million to 10 charities.
“We’ve spent much of the year apart. And it’s been tough. But despite the isolation, both physically and psychologically, we are and always will be a Vans Family, forever connected by creativity,” says Doug Palladini, Vans Global Brand President. “A recent study by Complex showed that in the U.S. alone, half of today’s youth are more stressed and anxious now than before COVID-19 started. Through the power of creativity, our mission for Vans Checkerboard Day 2020 will be to show that smaller acts of expression can make a big impact on our personal and collective well-being.”
For all the official details on exactly how you can get involved, please follow the jump.
Walmart, the massive, big box, retailer, and obesity promoter, is a hulking bag of putrescence for so many reasons that it’s not worth listing any of them. But here’s one anyway. Back in February 2022 we mentioned a story about 
We’ve got no backstory on this one. We left the controls for a few days to catch the tail end of the winter that wasn’t and celebrate Holi while avoiding the St. Pats day madness only to return to news that VF Corp chose March 17, 2022 to announce that the company had named long-time Vans (and former Vans president) Kevin Bailey as the new global brand president for Vans. 
Vans is promoting creativity as mental health during the pandemic with their second annual 
