VANS
The Vans brand is the brainchild of two brothers, Jim and Paul Van Doren.
This is how the two, in 1966, opened the Van Doren Rubber Company in Anaheim, in
California.
At the beginning, behind their first models, there is the will to create a shoe with which
play basketball, taking inspiration from Converse Chuck Taylor.
However, due to the widespread use of skateboarding in California of
those years, the Vans are soon designed thinking more about the needs of
skaters;
This is why the Van Doren study footwear with rigid soles and
non-slip, which allow you to defy gravity and improve the stunts.
It is also thinking about this use that then have chosen as the brand symbol the
design of a skateboard and the motto "Off the wall".
In particular, behind the meaning of this phrase, which translated would be "down from the wall", there is the custom of skaters to use the steep walls of empty pools as skateparks in which to train.
In 1966, as soon as the first Vans stores opened, they went on sale 3
models, with a price range between 2.49 and 4.99 dollars. Among these are present the
Vans "Authentic", by the way.
These shoes have since the beginning such a strong success that, in the 70s are already
present 73 Vans stores only in California.
Along with the growing success, Paul and Jim decide to also increase the. variety of models to choose from. In this way other iconic shoes are born. like the "Old Skool", with their characteristic side band, and the "Classic slip on" without laces.
However, because of the latter ambitious choice to increase the range of
products, in 1984 are forced to start bankruptcy proceedings.
Fortunately, thanks to a series of measures that are implemented promptly,
the company manages to get back on its feet and become the large-scale empire known today.