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Vans x Slam City – Available Now
The VANS x SLAM CITY collaboration celebrates the 30th anniversary of one of the most-loved skate shops in the world, with two special edition shoes.
There’s no doubting the fact that Slam City (Skates) is the London skate shop. London has seen a lot of skate shops come and go over the decades: Mud Machine/M-Zone, Alpine Action, Skate City and a select few others rose above the usual bike shop/sport shop retailers but, out of all those, only Slam still survives today – and with good reason.
To help promote the project, the super-talented Mark Jackson filmed and edited a special video featuring David Atkinson talking about Slam’s shared history with Vans and the thought processes behind the shoes. Slam staff member Oscar Oneim, past mail order aficionado Tom Tanner and guest Vans team rider Denis Lynn take the shoes out onto the streets and give them a thorough workout, proving that they function as good as they look.
The strong silhouette of the Native Pro is enhanced with contrasting white stitching and is subtly adorned with Savage Pencil’s classic Flamehead logo: an instantly recognisable motif that’s very much part of Slam’s graphic DNA. The second shoe in the project, the Lampin, may be a less obvious choice for collaboration but it’s just as valid. Originally released back in 1993, it captures the pioneering era of street skating perfectly. Both shoes have been updated for today, with Duracap toe bumpers, Pro VULC Construction and UltraCush HD insoles. Tod Swank’s handwritten text (which appeared on a Slam advert back in 1989) features on the footbed and shoebox, finishing things off perfectly. What better way to celebrate three decades of retail excellence?
The VANS x SLAM CITY collaboration is AVAILABLE NOW: check out the video and then click the banner below to get your pairs before they disappear for good…
