Originally released in 1978, forever a classic
Vans is undoubtedly up there with the best of them when creating timeless skate shoe designs. So good in fact, that throughout the years many of their designs have been taken as foundational blueprints for how skate shoes should look aesthetically and function when being skated in. Styles such as the Half Cab, Old Skool and of course the Sk8-Hi have been around for decades, successfully traversing the ever-shifting fashion and technology trends skateboarding seems to be pushing forward permanently.
The Vans Sk8-Hi is a perfect example of a timeless skate shoe due to its initial release in the '70s and it still being one of the most popular silhouettes in skateboarding today. Not only that, it's now a skate shoe that often finds itself on the feet of people who would never entertain the idea of standing on a skateboard, transcending the skateboarding bubble and firing itself straight into the fashion mainstream. But HOW? I hear you say. Well, let's take a look.
Initially known as the Style #38, the Sk8-Hi was first released in 1978, which was an incredibly important year in regards to the progression of skateboarding in many aspects. Not only was the Sk8-Hi introduced to the world, but the most important trick in modern skateboarding was created by a skater named Allan “Ollie” Gelfand. Of course, it was the Ollie, the trick every kid wants to learn right away when first getting a skateboard. There was one issue with the Ollie though, it created a whole new abrasion area for skate shoes to deal with. Rather than just the sole of the shoe being the main point of contact on the board, it was now the upper part of the shoe that was getting the sandpaper treatment too. This made canvas shoes much less appealing due to their inappropriate construction. Luckily for Vans, they had released the much more durable suede Old Skool in 1977 and in 1978 the Sk8-Hi was also released with suede panels on most of the high-abrasion upper areas. Perfect timing!
The first high-top skate shoe
Not only was the Sk8-Hi one of the very first skate-specific shoes to use suede panelling, it was the first high-top skate shoe ever made. With skateboarding progressing at a rate of knots during this time, these groundbreaking designs set the tone for how a skate shoe should perform. The introduction of a high-top silhouette resulted in skaters being able to opt for a shoe that would not only look different from the rest but would also support and protect their ankles from the never-ending collisions between board and ankle.
Revolutionary is probably a bit of a stretch, but it has got to be said that Vans did seem to be truly looking into how they could make sure their shoes were as good as they could be for skating. This early development of skate shoes set Vans up to be where they are today, by putting in the work before anyone else committed to entering the market resulted in skaters placing a lot of love and trust in the brand. This is one of the main reasons for keeping their classic silhouettes relevant to this day.
However, as we all know, making a great product doesn't always mean instant success. There is also a level of luck and a form of marketing - whatever that may be - needed to spread the word about the product's quality. Obviously in skateboarding, the skaters on the team are the most powerful marketing tool the brand can have, and throughout the years Vans have made sure that their team is always one of the best in the world. It's much easier to spread the message that you are the best at making skate shoes when you have the best skateboarders on the planet being seen shredding in them. Names such as Christian Hosoi, Tony Hawk, and Tony Alva all the way over to modern fashion icons such as Dylan Rieder being on the team only solidify the perception of Vans being the ultimate shoe for skating.
Combining skateboarding and music culture
This creates an overlap of sub-cultures. In the world of music, scenes such as punk and hip-hop took Vans silhouettes such as the Sk8-Hi and incorporated them into their fashion style. Bands such as Minor Threat or Beastie Boys would be seen on stage in Sk8 Hi's, effectively achieving the same results as the sponsored skaters, only this time they are making the shoes appealing to music fans, not necessarily just skateboarders, and with wider appeal. By 1995, Vans started their incredibly successful Warped Tour festival, taking this cross-pollination between skaters and music lovers, (especially punk/hardcore fans) and merging it all into one big event that celebrates both Vans and boundary-pushing music.
The Vans MTE collection
More recently, Vans has used the Sk8-Hi to appeal to yet another demographic with their Sk8-Hi MTE range, also known as their Mountain Edition range, which takes the classic Sk8-Hi silhouette and enhances it for almost any outdoor environment you can think of. Now, I'm not sure if the motivation behind this was to get on the 'Gorpcore' bandwagon or to disengage with it entirely and try to add their own style to the outdoor adventure world, but either way, it's working! With lugged sole units, waterproof technology, Ortholite lined insoles and special rubber compounds designed for treacherous terrain the Vans Sk8-Hi MTE truly is a fashionable yet functional footwear option for reaching those hard-to-reach areas.
The evolution of shoe technology and beyond
As I'm sure you are aware, skateboarding has changed slightly since 1978, and although the Sk8-Hi hasn't received any aesthetic amendments, the technology used is space age compared to the original. When the Sk8-Hi was originally released, as mentioned before, the suede panelling was a game changer, but with skateboarding being so brutal to toe-caps these days, Vans have added their DURACAP technology underneath the toe-cap. This gives the shoe a whole other layer of durability before you can see your socks through your shoe. The insole used these days is the incredibly popular POPCUSH insole, designed to take the burden of heavy landings and long skates off of your feet as much as possible as well as keeping you skating for even longer! Lastly, the rubber compound used in the classic waffle sole unit has been upgraded to Vans' very own SICKSTICK technology, refined over the years to ensure the sole unit is as grippy and durable as it could be.
Due to their early success and drive to never stop improving, Vans became the go-to skate shoe before anyone else, cementing themselves as a brand that skaters can truly rely on. Naturally, due to the popularity and sheer numbers of skaters wearing Vans, the silhouettes eventually get noticed by other sub-cultures, like the punk scene, which then seeped into the general populace. It's crazy to think, but it's effectively a huge butterfly effect, starting with skateboarding, seeping into other cool subcultures until finally, someone uses the shoe on a catwalk, or a celebrity stylist gives them a pair to wear and then suddenly, before you know it, your middle-aged neighbours are wearing them out to play bingo. Bingo aside, this is a testament to how cool skateboarding is; and with that, how cool Vans shoes such as the Sk8-Hi are.
