Inside Sterling Ruby and OTW by Vans’ skatewear-inspired collaboration
American artist Sterling Ruby and OTW by Vans’ footwear collaboration was revealed in Los Angeles, backdropped by a specially constructed skate park created with PLAYLAB, INC
OTW by Vans and American artist Sterling Ruby’s S.R. STUDIO. LA. CA. revealed their much-anticipated first collaboration last night (27 February), on the eve of the opening of Frieze LA 2024. It was celebrated with an open-air lot party, pop-up skate installation, and performance in downtown Los Angeles with guest artists Paris Texas and Salem.
Ruby, himself a former pro-skater, has been wearing Vans for four decades. The collaboration manifests as a new skate shoe titled ‘Clash the Wall’, a mash-up of four Vans icons: the Old Skool 36, the Authentic, the Mid-Skool 77, and the Sk8-Hi. Its two acid colourways – luminous orange and vibrant green – feel reminiscent of Ruby’s often unnerving use of colour in his works, which span sculpture, textiles, drawing, collage, ceramics, painting, and video. The 2019-founded S.R. STUDIO. LA. CA is the arm of his studio which creates clothing collections (the designer also memorably collaborated with Raf Simons on a co-branded A/W 2014 collection for Simons’ eponymous label).
Sterling Ruby’s S.R. STUDIO. LA. CA. collaborates with OTW by Vans
This new project marks the first time the artist has officially collaborated Vans, although in the summer of 2023, in Paris, there were hints of what was to follow. Back then, Vans shoes hand-customised by Ruby’s studio started cropping up on select friends of the studio and on skaters making use of Los Angeles-based creative studio PLAYLAB, INC’s pop-up skateable installation at the city’s Pont Alexandre III.
A similar set-up by PLAYLAB, INC provided the backdrop for the event yesterday evening, an epic skate park which Jeffrey Franklin, the collective’s co-founder and partner, worked on with Ruby. ’We wanted to take the classic wood skate architecture of ”the hill” and create a sort of abstract [version] of that into a standalone piece,’ he tells Wallpaper*.
’It was about creating a colour field they could skate within,’ he continues, pointing out how the sound stage was integrated into the back wall. An angular, abstract clog which is in development with Sterling Ruby’s S.R. STUDIO. LA. CA. appeared to provide further inspiration to the skatepark’s blocky shape, while the bright ‘pollen’ yellow was intentionally chosen to complement the shades of Sterling’s sneakers.
’We “dipped” the whole thing in this unique colour so it was uniform all the way through,’ says Franklin.
Built using Skatelite in collaboration with California Skate Parks, the installation can be disassembled and reused. ’It's a skate language, but we wanted to create something that leans more towards the unique artwork side of things,’ Franklin concludes.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
OTW by Vans x S.R. STUDIO. LA. CA. will be available in limited-edition quantities through selected global retailers and at otw.vans.com, from 29 February 2024.
Tilly is a British writer, editor and digital consultant based in New York, covering luxury fashion, jewellery, design, culture, art, travel, wellness and more. An alumna of Central Saint Martins, she is Contributing Editor for Wallpaper* and has interviewed a cross section of design legends including Sir David Adjaye, Samuel Ross, Pamela Shamshiri and Piet Oudolf for the magazine.
-
The Brazilian Forest House injects art into a modernist-inspired, contemporary design
The Brazilian Forest House, designed in upstate São Paulo by FGMF, brings together nature and art
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Waiting room inspo: Inside Studioutte’s cinematic Sala D’Attesa at Milan Design Week
Studioutte’s Sala D’Attesa, staged in Nolo during Milan Design Week 2024, was a scenographic interior merging different design sensibilities
By Laura May Todd Published
-
Bang & Olufsen’s Recreated Classics series continues with a CD player revival
Bang & Olufsen’s Beosystem 9000c music system brings the original digital compact disc format back to life and pairs it with the latest in speaker design
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Inside John Lobb’s timelessly elegant New York flagship, a trove for shoe lovers
John Lobb opens its 700 Madison Avenue store, a walnut wood-clad space filled with sophisticated footwear for any occasion or terrain
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Comme Si’s first store in Brooklyn is a design lover’s temple to socks
Sock and loungewear brand Comme Si launches a temporary Brooklyn store, a rich and inviting space created with designers Elias Studio, John Sohn and Yoonjee Kwak
By Pei-Ru Keh Published
-
Extreme Cashmere’s Los Angeles takeover is a lesson in how to host in style
Amsterdam-based label Extreme Cashmere invites Wallpaper* behind the scenes of its Los Angeles pop-up, featuring an ephemeral restaurant inspired by the team’s beloved dinner parties
By Jack Moss Published
-
Inside Valentino’s vast new store on New York’s Madison Avenue
The three-floor Valentino boutique, which was formerly a longstanding flagship space for Calvin Klein, has been transformed into a beacon of Italian style
By Pei-Ru Keh Published
-
Zegna x The Elder Statesman launches with Los Angeles pop-up in a Jean Prouvé-designed structure
Zegna x The Elder Statesman arrives worldwide this month, including a special stop in Los Angeles. Here, Alessandro Sartori and Greg Chait tell Wallpaper* the story behind the collaboration
By Pei-Ru Keh Published
-
New York Fashion Week S/S 2024: Tory Burch to Willy Chavarria
New York Fashion Week S/S 2024 set off womenswear fashion month with a packed schedule spanning big-name debuts, runway returns and plenty of hometown favourites
By Tilly Macalister-Smith Last updated
-
American designer Willy Chavarria on his lifelong love of Dickies
Featured in the Wallpaper* USA 300, Willy Chavarria is part of America’s new wave of fashion designers. On the launch of his collaboration with Dickies, he talks utilitarian design, authenticity, and buying his first pair of Dickies at Kmart
By Jack Moss Published
-
Malin + Goetz cannabis candle celebrates the beauty brand’s roots, as latest store opens in Moynihan Train Hall, NYC
Malin + Goetz, the independent beauty brand and Wallpaper* USA 300 alumnus, is embracing new store openings and a cannabis candle collaboration with Brain Dead
By Pei-Ru Keh Published