Vans kicked off its 50th anniversary celebration from the House of Vans in Brooklyn, N.Y. and its SXSW pop-up at the Mohawk in Austin, Texas to packed houses on Wednesday night. This is just the start of the House of Vans 50th anniversary events, which is also scheduled in London, Sau Paulo, Toronto, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong.
The House of Vans experience aims to celebrate creative expression with live performances, DIY workshops, ambassador appearances and a display of “The Story of Vans” visual ad campaign.
At the House of Vans in Brooklyn, Nas and Yeasayer performed, while Erykah Badu headlined in Austin.
Vans president, Kevin Bailey, was on hand in New York to give Footwear News a quick tour of the House Vans. This included the Vans workshop where guests were treated to custom made, embroidered Vans checkerboard Slip-Ons, the skate park that was redesigned at the end of last year to feature a large brick bank paying homage to NYC’s iconic Brooklyn Banks, and towering cutouts and displays of “The Story of Vans” campaign.
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Guests were also welcomed with a curated selection of Vans footwear highlighting the design progression over the last 50 years in glass showcases as they entered the event.
Later in the night, Vans’ Steve Van Doren, son of the company’s founder and VP of events and promotions, hit the stage for the birthday cake reveal.
Throughout 2016, Vans will host a variety of activations including skateboarding demos, music events, interactive design workshops and art installations within the House of Vans to continue its celebration of the major milestone.
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