Supreme x Andres Serrano x Vans Old Skool
Supreme vs. Original
About the original
The Vans Old Skool was introduced in 1977 as Style 36, the first Vans shoe to feature the brand's Sidestripe (a doodle by co-founder Paul Van Doren) and the first to combine canvas with suede toe and heel panels for added durability. Vans has manufactured skateboarding footwear in Anaheim, California since 1966. The FW17 collab reproduces Andres Serrano's 1990 photograph "Blood and Semen II" across the suede side panels: a Cibachrome image of the two bodily fluids, created at the height of the AIDS crisis as part of a fundraising portfolio for Photographers + Friends United Against AIDS. The Supreme version retailed for $98 against $65 for the standard Old Skool.
About Vans
Vans is an American footwear company founded on March 16, 1966, by Paul Van Doren, his brother James, Gordon Lee, and Serge D'Elia in Anaheim, California, originally trading as the Van Doren Rubber Company. The first store sold deck shoes (now called the Authentic) made on-site for $2.49 to $4.99 a pair. Vans introduced the Era in 1976, the Old Skool in 1977, and the slip-on checkerboard in 1979. The company filed for Chapter 11 in 1984 and was acquired by VF Corporation in 2004. Supreme has collaborated with Vans on Sk8-Hi, Era, and Half Cab models since 1996.
