In pictures: Vans x Vivienne Westwood

US action sports brand Vans and British fashion house Vivienne Westwood have created a footwear capsule collection that champions fearless individualism and liberation. The exclusive collection reinterprets iconic Westwood archive prints, graphics and designs of the house for six of Vans classic silhouettes. Though the Vans x Vivienne Westwood Anglomania collection will launch in stores and online only on 20th September, the label already released pictures on Friday.

The Vans x Vivian Westwood capsule collection consists of the shoe styles “Sk8-Hi”, “Sk8-Hi-Plateau”, “Checkerboard Slip-On”, “Style #53”, “Old Skool” and “Authentic”. Each of them is finished with the designer’s “VW” monogram and retails between 70 and 145 euros (around 75 and 160 US dollars / 60 and 130 British pounds).

The “Sk8-Hi” is a nod to each brand’s birthplace and features embossed markings of a handwritten letter sent from Southern California to Vivienne Westwood’s flagship boutique at 44 Conduit St., London. The Sk8-Hi is outfitted with a natural vegetable dye tan leather, printed postage stamp listing the collaboration launch date and a leatherbound outsole.

Model “Sk8-Hi-Plateau” was inspired by Vivienne Westwood’s Pirate boot, which was first presented in 1981 as part of the legendary Pirate collection. Accordingly, the shoe’s design has adopted key design notes from the boot, for example the tan vegetable dye buckled strap across the hightop form.

The “Checkerboard Slip-On” unites the history of both brands as well, featuring Vans’ classic checkerboard pattern layered with Vivienne Westwood’s “Destroy” graphic – brand signatures that both debuted in 1977. “Westwood upholds the intent of the everchanging Checkerboard by subverting the design to include larger scale checks applied diagonally on the vamp,” explains the brand in Friday’s press release.

“Style #53” drew from Vans’ ‘90s archives to revive the loafer style slip-on. It features black suede uppers, a black lugged outsole and is finished with a Vivienne Westwood multi-colored metal orb.

Vivienne Westwood’s iconic signs - orb and lightning bolt - also decorate the “Old Skool” style, which is outfitted in oxblood suede and canvas with contrasting mustard-coloured stitching and gum sole.

Like “Old Skool”, “Authentic” also sports the orb and lightning bolt and is presented in a new vivid sky-blue colourway made exclusively for the collaboration.

The six styles of the Vans x Vivian Westwood capsule collection are available from Friday onward in selected stores and online.

Photos: Vans