VANS » 44 Hi

∴    The 44 hi was the first shoe that I designed that would be put into production. The brief asked for an athletic hi-top that pulled DNA from the famous Vans Sk8-hi. I looked through all the open cupsole options that were availiable and found a sole that was only used in the Syndicate line that had a nice athletic aesthetic but didn’t scream tech. The upper has familiar paneling to that of a Sk8-hi, with an added toecap, support panel over the ankle, a wavy eyestay detail and some added padding to finish it off.

The initial colorways of the shoe were all collaborative with brands and people from around the world; 5boro from New York, Crooks and Castles from Los Angeles, and Danny Wainwright from Europe. The idea was to create colorways that would be East US vs West US vs Europe. The shoe later on went into the women’s skate footwear line.