Vans Vault x Jim Goldberg
An iconic footwear brand, Vans continues to collaborate with subculture icons and creative outliers. Their latest project sees them team up with legendary photographer Jim Goldberg. With inspiration from Goldberg's iconic photobook Raised by Wolves, the collection includes footwear and clothing, infused with text and imagery from the book. A creative visionary, Goldberg's occasionally unsettling style touches on various topics: disparate youth, the class divide and American notions of aspiration. To coincide with the release of the collection, we take a deeper look at Goldberg's photobook trilogy, highlighting his key narratives and candid aesthetic. 1985’s Rich & Poor introduced us to Goldberg’s innovative aesthetic. Combining images and text to create a visceral narrative, the photo series juxtaposed welfare hotel dwellers with America's well-to-do. Created between 1977 and 1985, the piece highlighted the glaring differences between the subjects. Serving as a looking-glass timepiece, it featured candid personal accounts of his subjects hopelessness and affirmations of self-satisfaction. Spanning a period of 10 years, 1995's Raised by Wolves focused on California street kids. Considered by many to be Goldberg's seminal work, the book was a multimedia fusion of original photographs, text, diary entries, and other illustrative elements. Goldberg served as our unwitting tour guide, guiding us through a series of visual anecdotes, littered with addiction, abuse, and violence. 2017's Candy was a twisting, multilayered exploration of Goldberg's childhood in New Haven, Connecticut. An uncompromising 'photo-novel', the book intertwines Super 8 stills and text from Goldberg's childhood, with new photographs of the city and it's residents. Documented during Goldberg's residency at Yale University Art Gallery in 2013, the text includes candid narratives woven throughout the images, reflecting on the photograph’s symbolism and historical context. The book served as a bookend to Rich and Poor, taking us back to Goldberg’s childhood. A fitting end to a trilogy of eye-opening photobooks. Revisiting the iconic stories of Raised by Wolves, Vans join forces with Jim Goldberg to release a five-piece capsule collection. Consisting of three classic Vans silhouettes - the Slip-On OG, Old Skool and Sk8-Hi LX, the elevated styles are updated with nuanced details. From emotive hand-written style text to TV-static prints, this bold collaboration brings a unique twist to each silhouette. Quotes featured on the slip-on’s include ‘Put quarters in the jukebox and bitch about the music’, and ‘Sometimes remembering ain’t no fun’. All three pairs include red co-branded insoles, referencing the photobook's classic cover. The first edition of the new decade - Staff Styles is back, we find out how the Goodhood crew are planning to live for 2020, what they're wearing, reading, listening to and more... As a homage to Gasbook, we asked OG Supreme model, skate legend and Fucking Awesome bossman Jason Dill the infamous 10 questions. Strip everything right back, and let your outfit do the talking. FITS is all great product, with great styling. We've put in the leg-work, so you don't have to... For the 1st instalment of SS20 Goodhood Now, as usual, we highlight key pieces and styles that we think are rad...
1985 - Rich and Poor
I have the great privilege of being both witness and storyteller. Intimacy, trust and intuition guide my work
1995 - Raised by Wolves
2017 - Candy
2020 - VANS VAULT x Jim Goldberg
It’s all about where I grew up, and how I grew up. It’s about race, and class, and all these things.
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