Vans Won at Paris Fashion Week. Can It Keep Winning?

In a week for celebrating designer fashion, a sneaker brand, and not even a titanic one managed to capture the attention of everyone in town with various events that celebrated the convergence of the skate world with music and fashion. It was all capped off by a massive party under the Basilica de Sacré-Cœur on the hill of Montmarte, one of the most iconic landmarks in the city. When you do things like that, you deserve a spot in those “best of” conversations. 

The party, dubbed OTW by Vans: Checkered Future, was held on the evening of June 21. DJs like Kaytranada, Justice, and local legend Busy P performed from the top of Montmarte as red light glowed around them and smoke billowed from the stage. At the bottom, a jam session with Vans team riders took place in a specially-created skate bowl. In between was an array of partygoers packed in shoulder to shoulder, dancing along to the DJ sets that echoed through the Parisian night. 

The two focal points of the event space, the stage (which was also skateable) and bowl, were created by California Skateparks and PlayLab Inc. The latter is a design duo who most notably created sets for many of the late Virgil Abloh’s runway shows at Louis Vuitton. PlayLab also worked with Vans on previous skate installations at Paris Fashion Week and Frieze LA.

“PlayLab is a perfect fit for us because they are really thoughtful in everything that they do,” says Ako Jefferson, creative director of Vans. “There’s no cutting corners with them. They know these grand structures and how to thoughtfully look at them without things being contrived.”