This spring, legendary artist Ralph Steadman and premium goods purveyor Vault by Vans, partner on an imperative mission to raise awareness about animal endangerment and extinction. Steadman, the renowned British illustrator of social caricatures, cartoons and picture books, lends his work to the canvases of Vans’ Sk8-Hi and Classic Slip-On, to showcase his notoriously splattered, hallucinogenic illustrations.
Featuring illustrations from “Gonzovationists” Ralph Steadman and Ceri Levy’s published books, Extinct Boids, Nextinction, and Critical Critters, Vault by Vans presents an artful and expressive way of bringing awareness and attention to threatened species. Writer-filmmaker, Ceri Levy articulates the Gonzovationist approach simply: “We’ve always maintained that you’ve got to make people laugh in order to engage them. If we just tell people, ‘you’re all dreadful bastards, you’ve screwed it all up, and now look what’s going to happen,’ people go, ‘yeah, whatever.’ But if you make them laugh, you’ve got a chance.” Thought up by the duo themselves, “Gonzovationist” defines alternative conservation through the act of gonzovating—the protection, preservation, management, or restoration of wildlife and of natural resources to include forests, earth and water.
As part of the launch of the collection, Vans has partnered with WildAid, an organization that works to reduce global consumption of wildlife products and to increase local support for conservation efforts. In addition to encouraging contributions through a donation-inspired exhibition, Vans will donate $10,000 towards WildAid to provide crucial support to end the illegal wildlife trade in our lifetimes, deliver comprehensive marine protection and reduce our collective environmental impact. “We hope these vivid depictions of the world’s most imperiled species can help inspire the change we need to save them,” said WildAid CEO Peter Knights. To celebrate the Vault by Vans x Ralph Steadman collection, Vans will feature Steadman’s artwork alongside donation installations at the new Vault by Vans Pop-Up store, located on the Lower East Side in New York City.
Coining himself as a “savage satirist”, Ralph Steadman delivers meaningful visual enlightenment and informative illustrations in this Vault by Vans collaboration using a playful approach to a sensitive cause. With his artwork reflected on beloved Vans canvases across footwear, apparel and skate decks, a merging of two explosive identities unite for a significant cause.
With every footwear, apparel and deck iteration standing for something beyond themselves, each version tells a deeper story surrounding an endangered species. The collection consists of eight footwear styles, five apparel pieces and four unique decks. Keeping environmental protection in mind, the products were designed with the most sustainable materials available including organic cotton, FSC certified wood skateboard decks and packaging made from 100% recycled content.
The Vault by Vans x Ralph Steadman collection will be available on April 27, 2019. To learn more about the Vault by Vans x Ralph Steadman collection, please visit vans.com/vault.
Discover more about the exclusive styles and endangered species after the jump:
The OG Sk8-Hi featuring the Lion: The African and Asiatic lion population has dwindled from 450,000 in the 1940s to as low as 20,000 today. Conflict between man and lion is the main threat and trophy hunting is also an issue. To shed light on this majestic creature’s downfall, Steadman’s interpretation of the lion is featured on the uppers and side panels of the canvas OG Sk8-Hi LX.
The OG Sk8-Hi LX featuring the Grevy’s Zebra – Lack of food sources, habitat loss and illegal hunting are the major factors in the decline of Grevy’s zebras. With intentions to raise awareness of the wild animals, Steadman’s illustration of this striped beauty is featured on the uppers and side panels of the canvas OG Sk8-Hi LX.
The OG Style 138 LX featuring the Fin Whale: Habitat loss, toxins, climate change and especially commercial whaling have threatened the lives of this magnificent, seafaring animal. To bring this fire situation to the surface, Ralph Steadman’s Fin Whale artwork adorns the upper and side panels of the OG Style 138 LX.
The OG Style 138 LX featuring the Lemur Leaf Frog: Found in Columbia, Costa Rica and Panama, the Lemur leaf frog population has fallen drastically by more than 80%. In order to help this slimy creative bounce back, Steadman’s frog illustrations decorate the upper and side panels of the OG Style 138 LX.
The OG Classic Slip-On LX featuring the Garden Bumblebee: Only 275 species of bees exist globally, meaning these 275 are entirely responsible for making the world’s honey and pollinating crops. In an attempt to get the buzz out about these nearly-extinct insects, Ralph Steadman’s bittersweet illustrations cover the canvas OG Classic Slip-On LX.
The OG Classic Slip-On LX featuring the Bluefin Tuna: In the last 100 years the population of the Pacific bluefin tuna has been depleted by 96%. This over-the-top craving for tuna has led to illegal fishing and million-dollar prices on their fins. With all the intention to save this coveted fish, Steadman decks out the canvas OG Classic Slip-On LX with these very ‘blue’ swimmers.
Organic Cotton Tee featuring the Orangutan: In the threatened rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra orangutan numbers have plummeted from more than 300,000 to about 70,000. Often considered pests that destroy crops, adults are regularly killed, leaving orphaned infants which end up either in the pet trade or, with luck, a rehabilitation center. Much of their homeland has been cleared for palm oil production, and the remaining forests need 24-hour protection to stop the first great ape extinction.
Organic Cotton Tee featuring the Western European Hedgehog: In the 1950s it was estimated that there were 30 million hedgehogs in the UK . . . but now there are likely less than a million. Habitat loss in both urban and rural areas is the main problem. The hedgehog has been on Earth for more than 15 million years, surviving everything this world has thrown at it. The 21st century, however, is proving to be its spikiest test yet.
Organic Cotton Tee featuring the Amur Leopard: Seventy—the number of Amur leopards remaining in the Russian Far East and northern China. Two hundred fifty—the number of Amur leopards in breeding programs being prepared to enter the wild in the event of extinction of the remaining seventy. Habitat loss and poaching of the leopard and its prey are the main factors for its disappearance. Unbelievably, leopard fur is still considered desirable by certain fashionistas. Big cats should not become hats.
Organic Cotton Tee featuring the Grey Nurse Shark: Found across most subtropical and warmer oceans, this shark is hunted for its oil and fins, which are used in soup. Modern fishing methods accidentally ensnare this critter in nets—but a change to smaller meshes could stop the shark from being regularly caught as bycatch. Off the east coast of Australia, especially, the grey nurse shark population is listed as “Critically Endangered” and the numbers keep plummeting. This shark needs serious “nursing” back to full health.
Vans Deck featuring the Monarch Butterfly: The monarch butterfly annually migrates thousands of miles from Canada to Mexico. This is all the more extraordinary as its average adult lifespan is five weeks and the journey may take up to eight weeks. Somehow, they survive. Illegal logging has destroyed significant amounts of its Mexican hibernation habitat, but the creation of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve by the Mexican government is working well in protecting this monarch of migration from further harm.
Vans Deck featuring the Black Rhino: Once there were 850,000 black rhinos roaming the planet, but human encroachment, habitat change for agricultural purposes, and poaching for rhino horns saw their numbers dwindle to next to nothing. Chinese medicine uses the horn for various ailments, and recently in Vietnam it was alleged to be a cure for cancer—creating a whole new market (and problem). Although conservation has helped the black rhino’s numbers rise to around 5,000, education is imperative and awareness campaigns can teach people the truth about rhinos and their horns.
Vans Deck featuring the Largetooth Sawfish: This once-abundant sawfish inhabits various areas of the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, with sightings becoming increasingly rare. Sawfish parts are used in Chinese medicine and shark fin soup, and the rostrum (the elongated snout lined with saw-like teeth) is often displayed as a decorative curio or trophy. Irresponsible fishing methods accidentally trap sawfish in nets, but new techniques could protect this unusual fish from becoming no more than a historical relic on a dusty shelf.
The OG Classic Slip-On LX, “Gonzovationist”: What is “gonzovation”, you ask? It’s an alternative conservation through the act of gonzovating; gonzovation is the protection, preservation, management, or restoration of wildlife and of natural resources to include forests, earth and water. So, naturally, a “gonzovationist” is an alternative conservationist; a person who makes sense from the nonsense. Thought up by the artist himself, “I’m A Gonzovationist” is printed across the vamp of the OG Classic Slip-On LX as well as Vans’ checkerboard side panel for good measure.
The OG Slip-On LX, Checkerboard Splatter: In sum, this collaboration with Vans uses illustrations that offer an artful, original, and expressive way of bringing awareness and much-needed attention to threatened species. Included in the Vans x Ralph Steadman collection is a checkerboard splatter style resembling splattered blood across an oceanic backdrop–an unmistakable interpretation of the world’s endangered sea creatures.
