Vans, a cult brand - MAGTOO
SHARE:The Vans story begins in 1944 when Paul Van Doren, then 14 years old, left school to spend all his days on the race tracks. Gifted in accounting, he showed real aptitude for making money, which earned him the nickname "Dutch the Shifter". To put him to work, his mother found him a job at Randy's, a shoe manufacturer in Boston, his hometown.
Twenty years later, he became its executive vice-president and moved to California in the hope of saving a subsidiary of the company from bankruptcy. It was then that Paul Van Doren decided to strike out on his own and put his entrepreneurial abilities to the test. In 1966, Paul, along with his brother Jim and his friends Gordy and Serge, opened the doors of the Van Doren Rubber Company at 704 East Broadway in Anaheim, California.
Their concept is innovative: making canvas sneakers for the whole family and selling them where they are produced. On their first morning at work, 12 customers buy their “deck shoes” now known as Authentic. Shortly after, a customer returns to ask for a pair of a different color. Paul then has the idea of having her bring back the fabric she would like to use. This is the beginning of a long history of customization. The checkerboard print appears about ten years later, when designing the Vans style #48 pair, now known as Slip-Ons. Steve Van Doren, Paul's son, had noticed that skateboarders were customizing their soles to create a checkerboard effect. Paul therefore decides to print the checkerboard on his rod.
At the same time, the second wave of two-tone ska music was heard in Britain to transcend racial tensions. Bands like The Specials proudly display the checkerboard pattern as a sign of protest and racial unity. Fans of this movement then become the most fervent followers of the Vans style #48 model. In the United States, it is the Old Skool style that is emulated among Californian skaters with its leather band and padded reinforcement that provide balance and protection. The slogan Off the Wall, resulting from the collaboration of the brand with Stacy Peralta, will reinforce the positioning of Vans as a must-have brand for skateboarders.
But it was when a representative from Universal Pictures studios asked for a few pairs of sneakers for her film It's Hot at Ridgemont High starring Sean Penn that Vans gained international fame. The sneakers become so iconic that they even appear on the box of the film's soundtrack. After this providential appearance in dark rooms, sales of Vans sneakers exploded and the brand became known to everyone, overnight.
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