Vault by Vans Celebrates Bodega’s 15-Year Anniversary with DIY Luxury Inspired OG Style 36 LX

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Image Credit: Vans

Vans is excited to partner with Boston-bred retailer Bodega to celebrate the company’s 15-year anniversary in style. Inspired by the DIY nature of custom designer goods, Bodega reworked the OG 36 LX from the California footwear label’s premium Vault by Vans division, giving the everyday style of the Old Skool an heir of luxury.

Founded in Boston, MA in 2006 by artists Jay Gordon, Dan N., and Oliver Mak, Bodega caught worldwide attention for their innovative “hidden in plain sight” retail concept, combining fashion, art, design and counterculture in a space that was quite literally hidden in the back of a functioning bodega. Over the past decade and a half, Bodega has grown to become one of America’s best curated retailers in the youth culture space, and has worked on top-tier projects with brands and artists from around the world, including Vans on multiple occasions. In 2018 Bodega opened a second brick and mortar location, bringing their celebrated “hidden retail” concept to Los Angeles.

In celebration of their 15-year anniversary, Bodega has teamed up with Vans for a luxe take on the iconic black and white Old Skool. Working with the Vault by Vans OG Style 36 LX — the original name and shape of the shoe now called the Old Skool — Bodega pulled a series of premium fabrics inspired by DIY luxury, adding opulent details for a sneaker that evokes a sense of status. Black tumbled leather meets buttery suede, while a classic white Jazz stripe plays off a super hairy brown suede counterpart on the inner foot. Contrast white stitching, leather laces and a single tortoise shell eyelet on each eye-stay further reference custom designer goods, while the Bodega logo appears as something of a watermark, tonally repeating itself across the marshmallow midsole, embossed. And of course, the checkerboard leather tongue plays heavily into a certain Parisian fashion house, while staying true to Vans’ DNA, rounding out the mix of high and low.

“The goal was to take a more timeless and elevated design approach while retaining the ethos that Bodega was built upon over the past 15 years, especially in relation to our partnership with Vans.” – Matt Zaremba of Bodega

The Vault by Vans x Bodega OG Style 36 LX will be available April 2, 2021, exclusively at Bodega Boston (6 Clearway St. Boston, MA 02115) and Bodega Los Angeles (1320 E. 7th St. Suite 150 @ ROW DTLA Los Angeles, CA 90021).