Julian Klincewicz x Vault by Vans

Vans is excited to partner with multidisciplinary, Southern California-based artist Julian Klincewicz for the first-time to deliver a new collection celebrating human connection. The rising young artist imbued his inclusive worldview into a trio of premium Bold Ni LX sneakers from the California footwear label’s Vault by Vans division.

Working across photography, film, music, fashion, writing, Klincewicz (b. 1995) has
partnered with a range of leading artists and brands including Kanye West, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Calvin Klein (under Raf Simons), Louis Vuitton, MISBHV, Acne Studios and Eckhaus Latta. His work has been shown alongside the likes of Cali Thornhill Dewitt, Jim Goldberg, Wendy Ewald, Ed & Dianna Templeton and Nobuyoshi Araki, and was recently exhibited in the Virgil Abloh curated “Coming of Age” exhibition.

For his project with Vans, Klincewicz used the Latin prefix “COM” (meaning “together”) as a catalyst to explore human connection. Highlighting three central pillars that he feels represent a meaningful life — COMPASSION, COMMUNITY and COMMUNICATION — Klincewicz reworked the archival Vans Bold Ni in premium suedes and leathers with a trio of color-ways dubbed Eden, Black Beauty, and Grey Ridge. The three key themes are featured directly with hand scrawled text and sketches of stars, hearts and flowers across the tongues of the shoes, in metallic gold. The signature Vans Ultracush insole also features a circular imprint of the artist’s name, which matches up to a dust bag that’s included with each pair. A set of three t-shirts featuring original photo-based art revolving around the same three pillars completes the collection.

“I think what’s always been interesting to me is when things have layers to them, when an object represents something bigger than the sum of its parts and takes on a life of its own. For me shoes have always been such a part of defining identity, and I was thinking a lot about what goes into your identity, and how to make something that could, on a very basic level, function as a reminder that identity does not exist in a vacuum — it’s something that’s meant to be shared. I love the idea that we are not alone — we’re all humans. We’re in it together.” - Julian Klincewicz.