Words via Vans:

“Deep Southern California roots bring Vans and Disney back together again, this time, to celebrate 90 years of Mickey Mouse. Honoring the optimistic attitude and loveable nature of Mickey Mouse on his birthday, Vault by Vans and Disney collaborate with four iconic artists – John Van Hamersveld, Mister Cartoon, Geoff McFetridge and Taka Hayashi, to create one-of-a-kind artwork featuring the beloved Disney “True Original.”

In a unique, well-rounded collection, each of the artist’s custom Mickey Mouse rendition is featured on Vans’ iconic silhouette, the OG Sk8-Hi LX, as well as a short-sleeved tee to present a well-rounded offering.

With a mutual passion for California culture, renowned illustrator and graphic designer
, John Van Hamersveld is continuously recognized 
for his influential graphics and images that are quintessential markers of Southern California culture. Best known for his psychedelic patterns and vibrant color schemes, he is a pioneer in the worlds of art, music, and surf—blending these genres perfectly into his extensive repertoire. For this collection, Van Hamersveld produces bright, punchy graphics featuring the one and only Mickey Mouse.

Legendary tattoo artist Mark Machado, more famously known as Mister Cartoon, is a Mexican-American artist born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Mister Cartoon is recognized and sought after for his richly detailed hand-rendered style of fine line tattooing—a technique that uses diluted black ink to create shadows and depth. What sets his work apart is the textural intricacy and stunning details of his three-dimensional- appearing works. His contribution to the collection depicts a black and grey illustration of the iconic “True Original” mouse driving a vintage car.

To bring a minimalistic and surreal illustrative style to the collection, Vault by Vans and Disney worked with Geoff McFetridge, Canadian designer, illustrator, and animator based in Los Angeles. McFetridge’s work intuitively ignores creative boundaries and spans a broad range of art media. The versatility and simplicity in his work is balanced by the use of elegant line drawings and paintings. His design captures Mickey Mouse in a unique pattern, highlighting his iconic colors – black, red and yellow.

Vault by Vans mainstay, Taka Hayashi, completes the collection with his commitment to detailed craftsmanship and unique design approach. Hayashi’s design features an unexpected hit of pink, conveying a Mickey Mouse inspired hot air balloon.”

The Disney x Vans collaboration retails from $78 to $100 and launches globally on August 25, 2018 at select Vault by Vans accounts. Learn more about this special project at vans.com/vault.

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Now, we know these are a few months late, but sometimes shit happens!  Born-Free hosted their 10th motorcycle show back at the end of June, and although the show went on without a hitch, there was one piece missing from the puzzle, and that was the Vault by Vans and Blends, annual sneaker that coincided with the event.  Well, some things are worth waiting for, and this next edition of BF Vans should be one of them.  We’re now going on 3 years of this special edition shoe, and you can guess that the shoe didn’t stray far from it’s original aesthetic.  The same OG-inspired classic colorways are still present, and the signature red, white, and blue triple jazz stripe is back in all it’s intended glory.  This time, we get another Sk8-Hi, in black instead of navy blue like last year’s pair.  It’s perfect.  Subtle, yet enough to let on that these are “Born Free” editions.  The same clear checkerboard waffle soles are back, as well as custom woven tags on the tongue.  They’re finished off with custom printed logos on the footbeds.  Since obviously, the show has passed for this year, Blends will be releasing these this Saturday at all of their retail locations, as well as online.  We’ve enclosed a few undoctored pics from an iphone, so you can get a natural look of the shoe, as well as a few on-foot pics.  Enjoy!

Follow @Blends for more info and release times.

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Thanks to Overkill, Berlin, we get a first sneak peek at the upcoming Vault x WTAPS collaboration.  This pack has some design cues taken from prior Vault x WTAPS collections, as well as an all new wild design.  Taking cues from the Fall 2013 collab, the OG Old Skool LX features the same “Surplus” canvas and suede design, in the same olive and navy colorways.  It’s funny, because Vans created a GR version of this style shortly after the Vault one, which was a nice alternative to the absurd asking prices of the OG Sk8-Hi due to Kanye being seen in them.  New heads won’t understand the reasoning why that shoe still resells for so high.  Anyways, on to the OG Era LX.  They take cues from the Fall 2015 collection, inspired by Steve Caballero’s original colorway of the Caballero, aka Full Cab, aka OG Full Cab, featuring a black suede and either grey or olive croc pattern on the side panels, while sitting on top of black midsoles.  The newest and fresh design we have, are the “Ultra Litty” “Gucci LaFlame” “Flavor Town” OG Sk8-Hi LX, featuring an all black canvas and suede material, with a bold orange or blue flame graphic embroidered on the side panels of the shoe.  Hate ’em or love ’em, they definitely stand out.  There’s also another new design, by way of a digicamo Half Cab LX, which there’s also a matching digicamo longsleeve tee to go with it.  There’s also a few other apparel pieces, and a duffel bag.  Check them out after the jump.

Anyways, I usually don’t like leaked photos, as it tends to cause more harm than good to the brand, but since Overkill has posted these up on their site, giving the heads up that they’ll be going on sale soon, I figured why not be first to show you?  Enjoy!

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Words via Hypebeast:
“First released just over a year ago, New York-based Engineered Garments is set to reissue its mismatched collaboration with Vans Vault. Each pair of Classic Slip-On LX sneakers in the pack features one shoe with a leather upper and suede ankle construction, while the other shoe features the same two materials in the opposite arrangement.

As well as the five colorways from the original release — navy, black, khaki, “True White” and “Moonrock” — the sneaker will also drop in a new red colorway, exclusive to this year’s capsule. The Engineered Garments x Vans Vault collaboration is set to drop at Nepenthes New York on July 6.”

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Words via Vans:

“Vault by Vans partners with renowned artist and graphic designer, John Van Hamersveld to create a curated collection of nostalgic designs, including his iconic Wave print. Featuring his storied works on Vans’ OG Classic footwear models, apparel silhouettes and skate decks, this eclectic assortment fits in with the ranks of iconic Vault by Vans collaborations.

In this collection, Vans introduces new iterations of the OG Sk8-Hi LX and OG Classic Slip-On LX featuring Hamersveld’s designs in bold, retro colors and an apparel component that incorporates the iconic JVH designs on a classic black tee. And in a true showcase of heritage design, Vans presents three skate decks that match back to each design to round out the collection.

John Van Hamersveld has added decades’ worth of artistic contributions to the worlds of music, art, pop culture and action sports. While those savvy in the world of music honor Van Hamersveld for his numerous album designs for artists including Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones and The Grateful Dead. Surf and action sports enthusiasts may know Van Hamersveld as the creator of the day-glo poster for Bruce Brown’s 1966 crossover hit movie Endless Summer, which has continually been used as a visual message of inspiration. Most recently, Van Hamersveld completed a large tank mural as a tribute to the city of El Segundo and the local surf legends.”

The Vault by Vans x John Van Hamersveld collection retails from $43 to $85 and launches globally on June 1, 2018 at select Vault accounts. Learn more about this special project at www.vans.com/vault.

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Words via Hypebeast:

“Korean label WOOYOUNGMI is the latest to take on the Slip-On silhouette. The collaboration — the first Korean project from Vault by Vans — features two different colorways of the shoe, with “Royal Blue” or “Deep Red” used across the full-grain leather uppers.

The stand-out details of the shoe are the use of two-tone WOOYOUNGMI branding which runs around the midsole, as well as the hand drawn paisley print — a frequent WOOYOUNGMI motif — that appears on each footbed. The collaboration builds on influences from the label’s spring/summer 2018 collection including youth culture and the classic Lords of Dogtown movie. The capsule is set to drop at Vans stores in Seoul and the WOOYOUNGMI flagship from June 2.”

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