The history Chapter one
Paul Van Doren, one of the two brothers who started Vans, was originally an executive at one of America’s largest rubber shoe manufacturers. After some time, he came to the realization that shoe manufacturers were making pennies per shoe sold whereas retailers were taking home the cake, so he and his brother James Van Doren officially opened The Van Doren Rubber Company on March 16, 1966.
The opening day
On opening day, 17 people came to the store and 12 customers purchased shoes, which were made and ready for pick-up in the afternoon of that same day. Made from Duck Canvas, their soles were the strongest one could buy at the time. In fact, the Van brothers were very preoccupied with durability and quality: they wanted to make a shoe that would last. For this reason, they believed the shoe would speak for itself, and they refused to spend a dime on advertising. This is, until professional skateboarder Stacy Peralta came along a few years later and ended up inspiring the “OFF THE WALL” logo in 1976.
Fast Times
Vans, trying to be as in tune with the youth as possible, capitalized off this by creating the checkerboarded pattern slip-ons, and in 1982 a representative from Universal Studios asked the company for a few pairs of their checkered Vans slip-ons for the movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”. Similar to Dazed & Confused, Fast Times at Ridgemont High is one of those high school movies that doesn’t have one main character, rather each character has their own story arc, giving the audience plenty of options to choose from in terms of relatability. This cult classic is actually credited with making Vans famous: Jeff Spicoli, a now quintessential portrayal of the California skater/surfer dude from the 80s, incarnates the spirit of Vans, and is by far the most charismatic character of the film as he rocks checkerboard Vans in every scene, making them an essential part of his persona.
The fall and the rise
This success in the mid-80s gave Vans a lot of ambition and pushed them to diversify and face up to footwear giants such as Adidas, Nike, and Puma, but the move backfired and landed them in bankruptcy with $12 million in debt. However, this is when WP came in. The debt was only repaid by the 1990s, a booming era for skate events, which came with new competitors like Osiris and DC who brought forth new chunky silhouettes that became fan-favorites, leaving Vans looking dated.
This was until 2002 when Rian Pozzebon came in and decided to plunge into the archive, rebuilding original silhouettes like the Authentics, Slip-Ons, and Old Skools. Their brand identity went back to reflecting the essence of Jeff Spicoli, who only needed some tasty waves and a cool buzz to get by.
