When it comes to iconic summer sneakers, there are few options that have held up as well over the years as the Vans Checkerboard Slip-On. In addition to being featured in your dad’s collection and the likes of classic films like Fast Times at Ridgemont High, it’s just a sneaker that always seems to be part of the style lexicon for one reason or another. After distorting, re-releasing and blurring it, the latest iteration of the classic Vans Checkerboard kicks is an optical illusion inspired piece that’s equal parts M.C. Escher and Marble Madness. As Vans describes it, these shoes are “Teaming a trippy checkerboard pattern at the heel and toe with scattered branding through the midfoot, they’re built from brand-synonymous canvas and sit on the same no-frills vulcanised sole unit that’s been present since the label’s earliest days.” We absolutely loved the originals, so we’re all about a new option we can rock regularly–even if we’re no longer wearing them for kickflips or ollies.
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