Vans announces key new 'pinnacle category' called OTW

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 21, 2023

Vans has some big news this week with the brand revealing its new pinnacle category, OTW by Vans. This is a new platform “where [its] most elevated product expressions and brand experiences come together with the innovators of art, design, style, skate culture and entertainment”.

It was conceived under the direction of Ian Ginoza, the label’s VP Creative Direction for Pinnacle and is described as a platform for “pushing boundaries and challenging conventions” that channels the brand’s skateboarding origins “to drive a distinct and unique point of view”.

Ginoza said the label is “rooting the next chapter of Vans in the attitude and mindset of the brand's true self, defined and shaped by the community of original disruptors. Skateboarding embraced us many years ago from the fringe to drive culture forward. OTW by Vans is a reorientation back to who we truly are... back to 'Off The Wall’.”

The company added that the Vault by Vans product chapter will conclude by the end of 2023, making way for the launch of OTW by Vans in early 2024 “with its own distinctive e-commerce experience and availability at a curated selection of wholesale partners globally”.

The clothing and footwear will be presented in two distinct lines — OTW and Premium Standard.

OTW will be “a designated space for product exploration with collaborators to push the edges of design expression”. And Premium Standard will be an “elevated premium collection of classics from our beloved range of iconic silhouettes”.

Both categories will overseen by the OTW by Vans team that Ginoza has built who include Dylan Petrenka, Design Director, Footwear, and Lanie Alabanza-Barcena, Design Director, Apparel & Accessories.

The development will also see it forging collaborations, starting with SR Studio LA CA by Sterling Ruby, whose debut release will launch in early 2024. 

The RTW clothing brand by artist Ruby hasn’t taken part in any collabs before but Ruby said: “Vans feels right to us, it defines a certain West Coast history. The company started in 1966 and has run in tandem to so many skaters, bands, and movements that have been influential to me, my art, and how my studio runs as a whole.”

Vans also said that in the lead-up to the new OTW by Vans launch at retail, it will “activate at high-visibility global moments, including a live skate exhibition designed in partnership with Playlab Inc and California Skateparks at Paris Fashion Week Menswear Spring/Summer 2024 this week”.