In 2003, Vault by Vans was launched as a sub-label from the Vans mainline, with the intention of finding a space to explore different designs from its archive. In the years since, this offshoot has become something of an obsession of skaters and streetwear fans alike, allowing the rich history of the brand to be cross-referenced with futuristic collaborations. For its latest partnership, the brand has worked with Vibram – the innovative Italian rubber shoe brand – to push even further into the future and create something totally unlike anything being done in footwear.
Founded in 1937, Vibram has a long and storied history of creating footwear that is so functional that it infiltrates the fashion space. Named after its founder, Vitale Bramani, who is credited with inventing the world’s first rubber lug sole, for decades, the brand has looked to find soles to shoes that weather all kinds of surfaces effortlessly. In 2021, its name is a byword for innovation, championing a kind of footwear that goes far beyond what one might expect of a humble shoe. And to this day, its remit and influence remain pretty large too. In recent years the brand has collaborated with Virgil Abloh, Prada, Alyx, to name but a few. And look no further than the release of the glove-like FiveFingers shoe in 2005 to see a complete reimagination of the form and function of footwear.
The result of this partnership between Vibram and Vault by Vans sees Vans’ SK8-Hi Reissue LX and Authentic LX bolted onto the Vibram Bristol Sole, providing – a fusion of two of the legacy brands most revered shapes. It’s something of a meeting of minds, combining the best qualities of both their worlds, finding a commonality as well as finding a tension that makes this such an interesting collaboration. “We look to partner with brands who are striving to make an original product with a point of view,” Vibram’s SVP says. “We want to work with brands who are unique and provoke the market a little – who have a think-outside-the-box mentality.”
For i-D, the most obvious team to shoot and style this collaboration was Ian Kenneth Bird and William Barnes. Ian’s photography, a mix of low-fi aesthetics with an elegant sensibility, lends itself perfectly to this new shape. From his portraits of skateboarders on London’s South Bank that we ran back in 2015 to his fashion work shooting models in the latest issues of i-D, Ian’s simple black-and-white images have so much depth to them. (Sound familiar?) And William, a contributing fashion editor of i-D and a rising name in the industry, complements the aesthetic of Ian and this partnership so perfectly, creating something that feels fresh but classic at the same time.
With the world in crisis and rough terrain ahead of us, everyone needs a shoe they can rely upon. Welcome to the future of footwear.
Discover more here.
Credits
Photography Ian Kenneth Bird
Styling William Barnes