Nicole McLaughlin's New Vault By Vans Collab Celebrates the Great Outdoors

Nicole McLaughlin will always be the first to acknowledge just how much her designs blew up over the lockdown, but now we’ve been free to go out for a while, her prolific rise as a collaborator has allowed her to spread her eco-friendly message further. Hot off the back of her Gorpcore-influenced collab with Reebok, McLaughlin has linked up with Vault by Vans for another pair that celebrates the great outdoors, though this time it's less about scaling mountains, and instead just enjoying your own backyard.

The multi-disciplinary artist has chosen the Vans Slip-On for her latest project, which revolves around gardening and gardening tools. The pair combines the ease of the slip-on silhouette with outdoorsy tones of cream and green, or more workwear-inspired black and brown, and comes packed with all the utilitarian details and practical touches you’d expect from McLaughlin’s artwork. Crafted from organic cotton canvas, the shoe features a number of pockets across the toebox, with additional elasticated details just above to keep things in place. From here, a branded “N.M. Gardening Tote” tab calls out to the collab, and additional straps work their way around the heel, allowing the pair to be carried easily. Of course, the style has been designed with sustainability in mind, which means that the bindings are made from 50% recycled polyester, and the footbed is made from 25% biobased EVA foam. Finally, the pair has also been treated to a new VR3 Waffle outsole, which contains 60% responsibly sourced natural rubber.

The pairs are set to drop on the 31st March, so if you're looking to add them to your tool kit be sure to hit the release reminders under the images. In the meantime, check out Vans’ latest collection with Gucci.