VANS SKATE SHOES

VANS SKATE SHOES: AT THE HEART OF YOUTH CULTURE SINCE 1966

Stay forever young in a pair of Vans skate classics. Vans have come a long way since their launch in 1966, on a morning where they sold just 12 pairs of shoes to order out of their small California workshop, but skate culture has been at the heart of it all. Along the way, Vans skate shoes have unavoidably become a legend of the skate scene and a favorite of skateboarding aficionados worldwide, a benchmark for 50 years and counting. Over the decades, Vans’ influence has expanded exponentially, branching out into music events like the Warped Tour, feature film production with Dogtown and the Z-Boys (about the very first skaters), surfing competitions and clothing, collaborations with musicians such as Metallica, brands like Disney and designers like Karl Lagerfeld, and even into opening up a 42,000 sq. ft. skate park in Huntington Beach, CA. In 2011, all this led to Vans being the first company with skateboarding roots to achieve annual global sales of $1 billion, making them the largest single action sports brand in the world. With such a ubiquitous brand identity and stratospheric financial success, they must be doing something right. And at the heart of it all has always been something very simple — iconic skate shoes.

VANS SKATE CLASSICS

What comes to mind when you think of Vans? Perhaps it’s the Authentic — a Vans canvas shoe and “classic since forever” that comes in countless colorways, with a simple lace-up, low-top construction, metal eyelets and rubber waffle outsole? Or maybe it’s the Slip-On, a style essential, well known for its checkerboard version, with a low-profile canvas upper, plush padded collar, and the same signature waffle outsole? There’s also the Hi-Sk8, a legendary Vans skateboard shoe that was at the forefront of the high-top revolution in the 1970s. The reinforced toe caps and supportive collars are ideal for skating, as is — you guessed it — the rubber waffle outsole! It was also the second ever model to feature the iconic “jazz stripe” (more on that below), after it debuted on the side of the first pair of Old Skools in 1977.

A NEW CLASSIC IS BORN, WITH VANS OLD SKOOL SKATE SHOES

Just like Vans, the jazz stripe had humble beginnings, starting life as a doodle scribbled onto a notepad by Paul Van Doren — one of the founders of Vans — while on the phone. It was added to the side of the Old Skool, but never made it onto any other shoes. That is, until the ’90s, when it was picked up and championed by newcomer, Vans pro skate legend Geoff Rowley. And the rest is history — the jazz stripe has since become one of the most unmistakable marks of Vans DNA. And that’s not the only thing that was launched by the legendary Old Skool shoe. It was also Vans’ first ever skate shoe to feature a leather panel, for boosted durability on the board. And just like its tough construction, the Old Skool has stood the test of time, remaining one of the most popular and iconic models to this day. 

Tap into the legend of the Vans collection at Foot Locker, and choose from the wide selection of all these Vans skate classics and much more.