Vans has never been one to chase sneaker trends, which is probably why skaters, sneakerheads, and fashion-y people love to wear its shoes so much.
This season, though, even Vans couldn’t resist the allure of revisiting its heyday and throw its hat (or shoe?) into the ongoing chunky sneaker chatter ring with an all-new old school skate shoe.
Arriving at Harajuku’s famed streetwear store BILLY’s — a key Vans shoe retailer — Vans’ newest sneaker, dubbed the Speed LS, is a return to its early aughts era, with a puffy design akin to the classic skate shoes of the time mixed with a more new-wave, but still very retro, multi-faceted upper.
Though the Speed LS might evoke memories of a young reader (or author) whimsically attempting playground kick-flips in the early 2000s, it's actually a pound-for-pound remake of the same-titled sneaker from Vans’ Fall/Winter '98 line.
Difference being that as it's released about 26 years after the original, Vans' Speed LS now wears an upgraded upper concocted with a deluge of more premium materials (like hard-wearing suede), as opposed to multiple layers of shreddable canvas.
Underfoot, though, things are largely the same as '98, which is no surprise considering Vans’ penchant for creating long-lasting, cushioned and often unbreakable midsoles.
Anyways, Vans’ new Speed LS arrives in three fairly muted colorways (blue, off-white, black) in-store at BILLY’s on May 4, retailing at $85. This is actually not its first showing, technically, as Vans quietly released the Speed LS earlier this year, though it is the beefy sneaker's most visible (and varied) showing.
Between the super-padded upper, the chunky tongue, and the overall aesthetic, the Vans Speed LS shoe feels very of the current sneaker moment, which has seen a recent rise in skate-inspired retro sneakers from companies as varied as luxury labels and even basketball brands.
That said, if you’re going to cop a pair of early aughts-era chunky boys this summer, it has to be a pair of Vans, right?
