Undefeated and Vans Vault team up to bring back their “U-Man” OG Old Skool LX for another round of heaters.  This time choosing to go with some more recently traditional colorways for UNDFTD.  We get an Olive/Black, Black, and White pair, each sitting on top of a white vulcanized sole, with color matching foxing stripe.  Constructed in a hairy suede / printed canvas combination, featuring Geoff McFetridge’s now iconic U-Man, which has also made an appearance, via a digital rendering, in the campaign pics seen here.  The black pair comes with alternate black laces, while the other two just come with a single pair of white.  We also get a nice customized black box for each shoe.

Man, if only Vault kept doing more stuff like this.  We’re not looking forward to the end of Vault, but all good things must come to an end, and allow for new things to take their place.  We love story.  We love great design.  We love heritage and throwback references.  We love dope colorways.  These hit all the marks.  Another well done job by Undefeated.

These dropped a few weeks back, and are still available over on Undefeated’s webstore for $100 each.  Stop fucking around and go get yourself a pair.  At least that olive one, whew!

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Here we have the first look at 18 East‘s first collaboration project with Vans Vault.  Company founder, Antonio Ciongoli, sat down with Village Psychic to talk a little bit about everything.  His introduction to skateboarding.  His fashion background.  His approach to design, manufacturing, and retail.  This dude has a mission, and it’s against the norm, and he’s a game changer.  Read the entire interview over on Village Psychic’s site.

For their first collab of hopefully many more, they chose the OG Half Cab ’92 LX from the Vault Originals line as their silhouette of choice.  A fan favorite of our community.  It wasn’t just by chance either.  18 East’s owner, Antonio Ciongoli set out to recreate his perfect version of the Half Cab, based off of the original USA made version that had a very distinct shape, that was a little bit narrower, and had an extra toe cap panel, which is the first dead giveaway of a Half Cab ’92.  Vans snobs like us, always appreciate when someone goes to great lengths to choose specific things like this.  He also wanted to incorporate some features of the Core Classic Half Cab, or what we commonly refer to as the “GR” (general release) model.  Built similarly to any Core Classics models, with the simple and thin footbeds.  Perfect for skating, due to the great board feel achieved, however the cushioning only lasts for a short while.  While working on the design with our homie Rian Pozzebon at Vans, they decided that the UltraCush footbed that is found on all Vault Originals, was the move, as it provides slightly better comfort, and durability, without the bulkiness of the Vans Skate removable insoles.

The materials and patterns on this pack, all tell a story.  Here’s what Antonio had to say:

“Function came first with most of what we changed being “under the hood.”  So much work went into getting the silhouette right that our main focus became making three highly wearable colorways that any skater, whether they know us or not, would be psyched to skate.  That said, there are a few subtle touches that quietly tie them back to us. The usual woven “Half Cab” patch on the side was swapped for one made from indigo suede, as natural indigo is a key element of our collection and integral to traditional Indian manufacturing.  The suede panel behind that label is debossed with an intricate textile pattern that comes from the handwoven garment we are most known for – our Gorecki cargo pant. Jimmy Gorecki is actually the person that linked us with Vans in the first place so we thought that was a nice, low-key tribute. The less abrasion-prone panels below that are cotton ripstop, because that’s the fabric I’ve probably skated in most throughout my life. We flipped the OG Van Doren typeface to say EAST and added that on a small loop label just below the main tongue label and ran a dedication to the people that initially sparked me on skating on the back side of the tongue”.

The pack of 3 will be offered up in a Black/Navy, Off White, and Brown colorway, each featuring a black puffy tongue with natural white contrast stitching, and a matte white vulcanized sole with tonal foxing stripe.  Of course, the most notable features are the wide variety of materials used.  There’s cotton ripstop.  There’s indigo suede.  There’s debossed details, paying tribute to the intricate textile patterns on their Gorecki cargo pant, which I believe is sourced from JSP, Jimmy Gorecki’s label, who was also the one who introduced 18 East to the people at Vans.  You can’t go wrong with any of these timeless colorways.

I’m proud to say that we may be the community who holds most of the knowledge when it comes to Vans, but we’re still finding out things just like the rest of you.  Case in point, when reading this interview, we learned a little bit about how hard it is to take style cues from say, a Skate Half Cab, or GR, and incorporate it into a Vault shoe, or vice versa.  Different departments at Vans, own the property to that specific shape and style, and well, for whatever reason, they don’t like to cross-breed lol.  Just thought that was interesting.

We don’t have any official release info for this release, but when it becomes available, we’ll let you know, most likely through our social media outlets.

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Words via Hypebeast:

“Continuing their collaborative partnership, CDG, the diffusion line of COMME des GARÇONS, has teamed up with Vans once again for another footwear release.

Once again focussing on the classic Vans Old Skool model, the shoe this time comes in a clean white colorway. The shoe features a clean white canvas base accented by matching leather elements and suede overlays. Finishing up the design of the shoe is “CDGCDGCDG” printed on the sole unit paired with black/white heel license plates.

Priced at ¥16,500 JPY (approximately $145 USD), the white colorway of the CDG x Vans Old Skool is set to release January 7 via CDG and Dover Street Market Ginza.”

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It’s been almost 15 years since Vans first joined forces with West Coast-born global streetwear brand and retailer UNDEFEATED in 2007, and to celebrate the occasion, they’re bringing back the all-over U-Man print used on their very first collaboration. Utilized across three different OG Old Skool LX colorways — “Bistro Green,” “Blue Iolite” and “Buckthorn Brown”.

The U-Man was designed by internationally renowned artist Geoff McFetridge around the time UNDEFEATED first opened its doors on La Brea in 2002. Geoff created the U-Man as a gift for his friends and UNDEFEATED co-founders Eddie Cruz and James Bond, taking cues from their non-traditional sense of humor and UNDEFEATED’s unique connection to sports. The U-Man became the ultimate mascot for UNDEFEATED and a staple piece of branding on the level of the company’s Five Strike logo.

Composed of supple pigskin suede and sturdy canvas, each Vault by Vans x UNDEFEATED OG Old Skool LX offers an all-over U-Man print on its quarter panels, collars, and tongues. UNDEFEATED’s famed Five Strike logo is mixed with a Vans wordmark on the tongue tag, and the laces are embellished with a branded deubre of their own. Contrasting Jazz Stripes and marshmallow midsoles with upper-matching foxing round off each look, and all three shoes come with a unique skating U-Man hangtag sticker. A collection of U-Man t-shirts will accompany the shoes as well.

UNDEFEATED x Vault by Vans OG Old Skool LX will release Saturday, December 4 at 7:00 AM PST via Undefeated.com and UNDEFEATED global chapter doors. Please visit The Drop List, a calendar of Vans’ most exclusive product drops, for more information.

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Today, Vault by Vans and SNS reveal their latest collaboration. The partnership between the long-time companions includes a Vans OG Authentic LX and a SNS apparel capsule including a t-shirt and linen pants, dropping on August 18th exclusively at SNS.

Vans has helped shape the DNA of California-footwear since 1966 and to pay tribute to this extensive history, SNS discovered a print in the brand’s archive from the early ‘90s honoring the beaches around Southern California. A place close to SNS’ heart, with Venice Beach right at the center of it, the Vault by Vans OG Authentic LX nods to the timeless artwork from way back, reimagining the black and white illustration with all seven SNS locations.

Crafted with signature canvas, a vulcanized midsole with “SNS” lettering and the iconic waffle outsole, the Authentic LX features the artwork printed all over the upper. The striking design is also featured on the premium cotton short-sleeve tee. Equipped with a chest and back print, the SNS t-shirt is followed by a summer-ready linen pant with an adjustable waistband, button closure, zip fly and several pockets to complete the Vault by Vans x SNS look.

The Vault by Vans x SNS collection will release exclusively via the SNS app on August 18^th, with sign-ups starting on August 13^th and closing on August 17^th. For more information and where to purchase, please visit The Drop List, a calendar of Vans’ most exclusive product drops.

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