The History of Vans

No matter where exactly in the world you might be from, there's a pretty solid chance you're going to be familiar with Vans. Since its 1996 birth, the Californian-made skate brand has grown into one of the largest and most recognised sneaker brands on the planet due to its vast array of timeless silhouettes and effortless style. With all that said, this poses the question of just how exactly Vans grew into the dominant force it is today.

There's no doubt in our minds that if you're searching for the history of Vans, there are a million questions you need to be answered, so we've taken it upon ourselves to put together the most complete guide on Vans' history going. From its California and skateboarding roots to global recognition, we're taking a look at some of Vans' key moments that helped shape the brand into what we've all come to know and love.

The year was 1966, and brothers Paul Van Doren and James Van Doren along with their business partners Gordon Lee and Serge Delia officially decided to open The Van Doren Rubber Company in Anaheim, California. Both brothers were born and raised in Massachusetts where they got their start in shoemaking at the Randolph Rubber Manufacturing Company. On the first day of the store's opening, 12 customers came in to purchase shoes but due to the fact the brothers had only purchased display models so far, the shoes had to be created during the same day and picked up later on.

With little traffic and footfall around the area, Paul hoped that he would quickly garner the attention of locals with his company's thick-soled shoes, and luckily for him that was the case. Customers quickly began lining up around the block to enter the 400 square foot retail space and purchase a pair of the first Vans. Soon after this, the brothers made the decision to open a further 9 stores but only a few were profitable in the beginning. Despite his accountant's requests to close the deadweight stores, Paul instead decided to open as many as possible to spread his product as far and as wide as he could.

While the first decade of Vans' history was somewhat rocky, the brand slowly took incremental steps to improve both its product and its process. For instance, customers began complaining that the diamond tread found on the sole of the shoe would often crack and split so the team got to word and eventually designed the famed waffle sole. This waffle sole offered improved durability alongside extra grip, making it a favourite amongst locals and early supporters of the brand.

It wasn't until the mid-70s where the skateboard boom in America saw Vans simply explode in terms of popularity. The decision came when legendary skaters Tony Alva and Stacy Peralta approached the company with the idea of creating a specific shoe with skateboarding in mind. Soon after this point the #95 (a shoe now commonly known as the Era) was born. The shoe featured a padded ankle collar to protect the user from damage as well as offering a robust construction.

Skateboarders around California quickly followed the example set by Tony Alva and Stacey Peralta and began wearing these #95 Era shoes. Part of the reason why these shoes were so quickly embraced by other skaters is that both Tony and Stacey were part of a popular skate crew at the time named the "Z-Boys", so naturally, these sneakers gained a thumbs up from the community.

The Z-Boys are also credited for Vans' famous "Off the Wall" slogan. As the story goes, Tony Alva was skating in an empty pool and caught air while still holding his skateboard. The move prompted Z-Boys co-founder Skip Engblom to say something across the lines of "Man, you just went off the wall!" and the rest was history. The "off the wall" phrase quickly became a common saying amongst skaters in the area and eventually became part of the Vans logo when the Van Doren brothers caught wind of the saying.

With Vans booming in popularity amongst its young skateboarding followers, the brand would go on to fully embrace its skateboarding roots during the late '70s. It was around this time that Vans would release a trio of skate-ready models that would go on to be some of the brand's biggest models to date. In '77 vans would release the "#36", a shoe more commonly known today as the Old Skool. The Old Skool featured leather panels for durability and the debut of the "jazz stripe", an identifiable logo found on the exterior of the sneaker.

Later that same year, Vans introduced the "#98" aka, the Classic Slip-On. This lightweight shoe arrived without laces, had a lightweight construction and a grippy waffle sole meaning skateboarders quickly favoured it. Finally, in 1978, Vans released the SK8-HI, a new high top trainer perfect for protecting skaters' ankles and adding extra stability.

1980 saw Vans get its first big-screen break when producers at Universal Studios called and asked for sneakers for an upcoming movie by the name of Fast Times at Ridgemont High. This American coming of age drama featured a stoner surfer character by the name of Jeff Spicoli (played by a young Sean Penn) who was required to wear Vans shoes during the film. Vans sent Universal several pairs of their sneakers including a new checkerboard design of the classic Slip-Ons and the rest was history. The film went on to eventually do big things for Vans as the company went from having $20 million in revenue the year before the film's release to $45 million in the year after.

Though Vans was seemingly dominating the skateboarding world, the Van Doren brothers turned their attention elsewhere and began to expand the brand in as many directions as possible, which in turn, would start a terrible downfall for the brand. By 1984 Vans filed for bankruptcy due to its deviation from its initial plan and Paul would replace his brother James as president in an attempt to make cost-cutting changes. Employees were told they wouldn't receive a raise for at least 3 years and all the budget for marketing was eliminated completely. By some miracle, Vans emerged from its 12 million dollar bankruptcy three years later.

After a few more turbulent years getting back on its feet, Vans would release its first signature skate shoe in 1988. As a result, the Steve Caballero was born and quickly garnered attention amongst skaters due to its high top and weather-resistant construction. The same year venture investment firm McCown De Leeuw & Co. would buy Vans sending Paul Van Doren and his original partners to enjoy their retirement.

By 1992 the initial Steve Caballero model had been such a success that the brand decided to release the second version of the skateboarder's pro model. The Half-Cab arrived as a mid-top version to its high top counterpart and sported a padded tongue, a suede upper and double stitching to ensure robust construction and maximum durability when skateboarding.

The rest of the '90s and early '00s saw Vans reintroduce itself as one of the footwear leaders within the skate, surf, BMX and countercultural movements. Through this uprising, Vans assisted with the production of the film Dogtown and Z-Boys, Stacy Peralta's film on the first days of skateboarding. Given that Vans played such a key role in the Z-Boys era, it was only right that Vans would help with the film alongside offering their signature product to help with accuracy.

In 2004, Vans launched the 'Vans Customs' platform via its website. This platform was designed to compete with likes of Nike ID and adidas' customisation and offered Vans shoppers the chance to customise various silhouettes with hundreds of colours and patterns. This latest development was essentially a technological improvement on a grander scale than what Paul Van Doren and his brother offered at the beginning of the brand.

In the same year, another milestone would take place for the brand when the famed VF Corporation would purchase Vans for a staggering $396 million. After obtaining the company, VF would quickly launch an 18-month survey with 26,000 participants which would help Vans find its target audience. The results of the survey were somewhat surprising as many considered street culture and fashion to be a key pillar over the likes of action sports, music and art.

Due to VF's expansive network of brands including the likes of The North Face, Dickies, Eastpak, Timberland and of course Supreme, Vans was was provided with some key market visibility, and collaborations with its stable-mates became easier than ever. With Vans first collaboration in 1996 coming by way of Supreme, it was only fitting the Southern California born brand would go to produce an abundance of collaborations with Supreme in years to come also.

After continuing on its upward trajectory following the VF takeover, Vans would seek to enhance its physical brick and mortar presence in the early 2010s. New York was first up on Vans' agenda as they opened 'House of Vans', a skate and event space. In 2014, a massive 3000sq location would be opened under London's Waterloo station entitled 'House of Vans' also. The space itself would feature a skate park complete with a bowl, mini ramp and full street run alongside space for art galleries, music and film showings. In addition, Vans would open an immersive 330sqm store in the high-fashion district of Apgujeong in Seoul, South Korea.

In 2016 Vans celebrated a whopping 50 years as a company and launched the "Story of Vans" campaign. This campaign broke records in viewership for the brand and was seen and heard in multiple languages around the world. In addition, the brand also launched the "Vans Park Series", skateboarding's first-ever men's and women's park world championship series.

In recent years Vans has seen massive growth within both mainstream fashion and media. Sales of the brand's classic all-white Slip-On even grew 7,800% within weeks thanks to its feature on the hit Netflix show Squid Game. What the future will have in store for Vans we don't know, all we know is this brand likely isn't going anywhere and will be a mainstay within our wardrobes for years to come.

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