Where does one start when synthesizing luxury Italian finesse and California skate culture? According to Valentino Garavani and Vans, the answer lies in the transformative, mythical power of water. The duo’s new shoe collection offers a fluid meditation in the midst of a world rife with distractions. Water is cast alongside the models as the ultimate disruptor—a “primordial element” that shatters the illusion of stability.
Valentino Creative Director Alessandro Michele delved deeper into the philosophical thesis underpinning the pieces, saying, “What happens when the unexpected bursts into our lives? Which sensations arise when what seems solid dissolves under the blows of forces beyond our control?”
These aren’t the kinds of questions typically associated with sneaker launches, but then again, Michele isn’t one to ever offer up a simple vision. Between leafy fronds; playful, dotted Valentino logos; and red, checkerboard prints, the sneakers illustrate what arises from unexpected collaboration and creative openness.
Here, Valentino, with its history of graceful poise and craftsmanship, meets Vans’s legacy of rebellion as a skate-forward mainstay. The shoes—neither fully fashion or streetwear, but something more unexpected, undefined, and revitalizing—are available now from Valentino.
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