Vans Old Skool VR3 'Suede - Black White'
Colorway: Suede Black · Style code: VN0005UBBLK · Release date: February 24, 2023 · Price: $120 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Vans Old Skool VR3 'Black Marshmallow' (VN0005UB1KP) · Vans Old Skool VR3 'Black White' (VN0005UBBKP) · Vans Old Skool VR3 'Sea Spray' (VN0005UBBY1) · Vans Old Skool VR3 'Outer Limits' (VN0005UBBZ0) · Vans Old Skool VR3 LX 'Patchwork' (VN0005WS448)
Blacking out a shoe whose defining feature is a contrasting stripe is a deliberate provocation, and the suede VR3 build handles it well. With the panels, the overlays and the stripe all in the same dark shade, the design becomes a matter of texture and stitch line, and the only real contrast left is the white tape running around the vulcanised sole. From a few steps away the shoe is a silhouette and nothing more.
It released on February 24, 2023 at $90, a premium over the standard tier for a pair that shares its outline with shoes selling for $70. Suede rewards that treatment more than canvas would, because the nap gives a monochrome upper somewhere to catch light. The usual provisions are underneath: a padded ankle collar, a reinforced toe cap, metal eyelets and the waffle tread. Blacked-out pairs are the ones that survive daily wear, since nothing about a scuff shows up against an already dark panel.