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We've been seeing a lot of our favorite sneakers take on completely different forms. Solid-gold Air Jordans! A new Chuck Taylor! Gold-stitched Superstars! Now Vans is the latest of our go-to shoe names to give some of its signature kicks a brand-new look — one that's wonderfully impractical and unexpectedly cute.
These special-edition, candy-colored, soft-to-the-touch kicks launched today. It's the latest installment of Pop-In@Nordstrom, the retailer's ongoing series of shops-within-shops. Olivia Kim, Nordstrom's vice president of creative partnerships, dreamed up her own version of Vans' classic silhouettes with a simple M.O.: "I wanted the shoes to be as hairy as possible," she tells Refinery29.
Kim likens the collab's origins to dating: "We were both on each other’s radars, but sometimes it takes the colliding of planets to make things happen," she told us. "You have a crush on someone, they have a crush on you, you both know you are crushing on each other, but someone needs to have a party to bring you together so you can actually dance, share a soda, and maybe even sneak a smooch."
The resulting kicks include fuzzy, sugary pastel Old Skools, Velcro-closure sneakers fashioned out of emerald velvet, and shearling-all-over chukka boots. The capsule also includes apparel and accessories, which, compared to the shoes, are more subdued: black and burgundy sweats and T-shirts (with plenty of Vans' signature checkerboard). The vibe of the clothing is closer to the skater-kid aesthetic the brand is best known for. The shoes start at $39.95 for toddler sizes and $64.95 for adults; the collection caps out at $350 for leather backpacks.
Kim acknowledges that furry shoes aren't the most sensible. "If they get wet or muddy, they'll look like a dog that was caught in the rain, so you'll want to be careful about puddles," Kim said. Duly noted.
Click ahead to see the some of our favorites from the collection.
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