Vans Old Skool 'OTW Sidewall'
Colorway: Black/Racing Red · Style code: VN0A38G1VRH · Price: $154 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Vans Old Skool 'Checkerboard Disarray' (VN0A38G10A6) · Vans Old Skool 'Grape Leaf' (VN0A38G10FI) · Vans Old Skool 'Ditsy Floral - White' (VN0A38G116Z) · Vans Old Skool 'Flash Skulls' (VN0A38G118C) · Vans Old Skool 'Tiger Floral' (VN0A38G119M)
The design idea here lives below the upper. Vans has used Off The Wall as a motto since the 1970s, and this make-up takes it off the small heel badge and wraps it around the white sidewall, turning a piece of sole into a place to read something. Because the text circles the shoe, the branding is visible from every angle rather than only from behind.
The upper stays simple to let that work: black across the panels with Racing Red picking out the trim and the leather stripe kept in contrast. It was priced at $60, the standard general-release figure for the model at the time. A padded ankle collar, reinforced toe and the vulcanised rubber sole with its waffle tread complete a build that has not needed changing. Sidewall printing is one of the few places left on a shoe this familiar to put something new, which is why it keeps returning in different forms across the range.