We Hit The Streets Of Tokyo, London and The Lower East Side This Summer With Vans

One thing about Vans: they’re always in style, and always a little out there. Doubling down on their OG slogan, “Off the Wall,” the skate community’s most trusted streetwear line (for both the posers and respected skaters like Ben Kadow) just launched their newest campaign, “Always Out There.” New styles from the campaign launch this month, including the Hylane, Upland today, and the Mixxa to come later this month. Included is Upland, an updated version of the classic sneaker from 1999 that fuses a retro molded logo with a modern chunky sole, followed by Hylane, a signature Y2K style with 3D glossed sidestripes. Finally we get Mixxa, a modern twist on the Van’s beloved Ehkks sneaker (famously worn by one of TV’s favorite misunderstood teens, AJ Soprano). The new sneakers are an homage to the spirit of the skate community they serve—nonconformist, and oozing youthful rebellion. Out in New York, London, and Tokyo, a team of skaters, photographers, videographers, and stylists hit the streets in search of spots: Beatrice Domond and her crew lurk in and around back alleys in the Lower East Side, a neighborhood rich with its own skate history since the ’60s; Rio Morishige and the Tightbooth crew perch near Tokyo’s industrial zones and wave back from the city’s vibrant yellow metros. Helena Long and friends, representing London’s legendary skate shop Brixton’s Baddest, stunt in bold color-blocked apparel and shoes from the latest drop.  Wherever this generation’s most luminous artists are going—in Vans’ signature waffle soles, the streets are theirs.

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New York 

Photography: Zora Sicher.

Styling: Thistle Brown.

Featuring: Beatrice Domond, Max Wasungu, Ama Elsesser, Coles Bailey, Quinn Batley.

London 

Photography: Finlay Flint.

Styling: Danny Reed.

Featuring: Helena Long, Jordan Thackeray, Cece and Daphne of Brixton’s Baddest, Merryn Garner.

Tokyo

Photography: Kodai Ikemitsu.

Styling: Shun Watanabe.

Featuring: Hina Maeda, Rio Morishige, Yudai Fujigasaki, Fuma Tsuzuki, Kana Ishimoto.