Vans Era ComfyCush 'Tear Check'
Colorway: Black/White · Style code: VN0A3WM9V9Y · Release date: June 7, 2019 · Price: $209 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Vans Era ComfyCush 'White' (VN0A3WM902O) · Vans Era ComfyCush 'Mixed Media - Black Checker' (VN0A3WM917Q) · Vans ComfyCush Era 'Mixed Media - White Multi' (VN0A3WM91PC) · MoMA x Vans ComfyCush Era 'Colorful Checkerboard' (VN0A3WM91PJ) · Vans ComfyCush Era 'Paisley - Black' (VN0A3WM942L)
The checkerboard was never designed. In the late 1970s kids began colouring in the raised squares of the waffle outsole on their Vans, and the company noticed what they were doing and moved the pattern up onto the canvas, where it became the print the brand is now best known for. A torn, irregular version like this one only reads as a variation because the aligned original is so thoroughly familiar. Underneath, this is a ComfyCush build. In February 2019 Vans reworked the insides of five of its classics, replacing the multi-panel interior with a single piece, adding arch support and combining foam with rubber in the sole unit. None of it was visible from the outside. The work was aimed at people who liked the shape but not the thin, flat footbed the shoes had come with for decades.