As we well know, Vans knows how to make an entrance. While it certainly didn’t hurt that they were announcing the start of their “Future Make” program, a series in which core models would be reinterpreted through a modern lens, the Old Skool 36 FM began with a bang. An intro during Milan Design Week tied its musical inspirations to an avant garde art installation designed by Willo Perron, paid off with a public release of the shoe just a few days later.
While notable for kicking off a new aesthetic within the halls at Vans, you certainly can’t discount the Old Skool 36 FM on it sown merits, either. Mixed materiality, a grroved sole unit, TPU SideStripe and double-layered tongue push the overall shape of the venerated Old Skool into a “next century” design aspect. For the silhouette’s next two colorways, it shifts away from the greyscale monochromatic side, first delivered in comprehensive off-white and black, and into a more lush direction.
First up is a heavy pine green treatment, making space for more grounded coloring with a black color and white lace option. Then to a “Drizzle” look that explores new color-blocking opportunities, treating the rubber toe and heel caps almost as an exterior shell, bolstering the light grey mesh that it wraps around. A navy blue mesh collar provides a contrasting pop of color in closing.
