Vans Old Skool 'Summer Linen - Black'
Colorway: Summer Linen/Black · Style code: VN0007NTBMA · Release date: March 12, 2023 · Price: $119 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Vans Old Skool 'Earth Tones - Green Gables' (VN0007NT2LN) · Vans Old Skool 'Leaf Camo' (VN0007NT448) · Vans Old Skool 'Pig Suede - Antelope Gum' (VN0007NT5QJ) · Vans Old Skool 'Color Theory - Glow' (VN0007NT7V0) · Sesame Street x Vans Old Skool 'Elmo' (VN0007NT7VJ)
Swapping the usual duck canvas for linen is a small change that reads immediately in person. The weave is looser and less uniform, with the slubs and thread variation that come with the fibre, so a flat black upper picks up texture instead of sitting dead. The leather sidestripe and the white foxing tape supply the contrast, and the collar and toe overlays hold their shape against a fabric that is naturally softer than what the model normally uses.
Priced at $70 when it landed on March 12, 2023, it sat at the standard Old Skool tier rather than carrying a premium for the material change. Linen breathes more freely than canvas, which makes this a warm-weather pair first, though it also creases sooner and does not shrug off rain the way a treated suede will. The waffle-tread rubber sole and the padded collar underneath are unchanged, so the fit and the feel underfoot match any other pair in the line.