Vans Syndicate x Sean Cliver, Sean and his unique vision have been synonymous with many things at their peak. His art work has been used across the board (no pun intended) by a lot of companies.
When answering a Powell ad aged 19 he was thrown in at the deep end, creating the graphic for Ray Barbee’s first pro model. Steve Rocco who would later hire him congratulated him on “saving” Powell with that early work. The rest is history, he designed some of the most memorable board graphics for World Industries, Blind, 101, Hook Ups and Element. His impact on skateboarding has not only been through his graphic work, it naturally evolved into writing for Big Brother at the same time. He later became the editor of what was arguably the best skateboard magazine of all time. As if all of that wasn’t enough of a gift to our collective consciousness he literally wrote the book on skateboard graphics. His OCD led to collecting many of the boards which he missed out on owning as a youth and compiling the two Disposable books. Quite a resumé! Recently he has collaborated with Supreme, Cliche, Nike SB and HUF. This post is about the shoes he has designed for Vans Syndicate. There is an Authentic Pro Syndicate…
These have a black suede toe piece, a striped checkerboard canvas makes up the sidewall and mid of the shoe. They are set aboard a Vulcanised sole with a waffle sole. There is a Syndicate print on the tongue. These have Ultracush insoles with a Sean Cliver graphic print. This is the graphic…
This shoe comes with a miniature printed deck featuring an expanded version of this gnome scene as well as a Vans sticker sheet. The second shoe is a Mid Skool Pro Syndicate…
This follows the same kind of aesthetic as the Authentic. The striped checkerboard canvas makes up the sidewalls of the shoes. Black suede makes up the toe, heel, eyelet strip and tongue. They have a padded ankle collar and like the Authentics sit aboard a vulcanised sole with waffle grip. They have a black jazz stripe and a Syndicate print on the tongue. They come with spare Vans Syndicate laces. The Ultracush insoles have a different Sean Cliver print on them with two different inebriated gnomes…
Sean Cliver is a true legend who has been involved since the early days and it’s great to see his work on these shoes. You can buy these Vans Syndicate x Sean Cliver shoes and many others here. If you want to know more about the man behind this collaboration there is an excellent Crail Couch interview below…