- Vans, an immediate success
The story begins in 1966, when the brothers Paul and James Van Doren - helped by their friends, Serge D'Elia and Gordy Lee - decide to found the Van Doren Rubber Company, a brand dedicated to sliding sports. A concept still unpublished at the time.
The same year, the first model of Vans Authentic, then called "Vans No. 44", is marketed in a shop located a few meters from their manufacturing plant in Anahein in Southern California. The idea is to manufacture the shoes on the spot to sell them directly to the customers, in order to limit the costs.
- Vans, the shoe of the skaters
The first shoe with a non-slip sole (called "Waffle"), the Vans Authentic, then available in blue and red, offers better grip (translation: more grip on the surface of the skateboard).
An innovation that makes a lot of noise in the skateboarding environment that, until then, could not refer to any brand. Thus, from the beginning of the 70s, the Vans Authentic - Van's for intimates - became the official shoe for skateboarders, but also for BMX bikers.
- Vans, the standard of urban fashion
With its sleek design, rubber outsole and closed lacing, the most authentic pair of Van's has invaded the skateparks to hit the streets. Built as a symbol of coolness, the Vans Authentic attracts the esteem of an unsuspecting youth and / or in search of freedom, to the point that it becomes more democratic and becomes, rightly, a basics of urban fashion.
Revisited through various collaborations (& Other Stories, Disney, Kenzo etc.) and reinterpreted in multiple colors, Van's Authentic has risen to the top of the trends, slaloming between its roles as skate icon and Dean of basketball .
