RHUDE Digs Into Its SoCal Heritage With Latest Vans Collaboration

Known for its high-street take on classic Southern California cool, Rhuigi Villaseñor‘s RHUDE has linked up with Vans for three takes on the Bold Ni. Fresh off the release of an extensive PUMA capsule collection in early September, Villaseñor’s brand is now looking to his home state — namely, its classic license plates — for inspiration on its latest footwear project.

As RHUDE and Vans are both based in the Sunshine State and steeped in California culture, the former tapped into the latter’s archives to revitalize their classic plate print, making for a collaborative design and a history lesson wrapped into one. Arriving in black, blue and red, each shoe’s color palette tells a different story. The black pair draws from a plate introduced in 1963 that featured gold numbers and an embossed California logo by equipping a black suede upper and a flying-V print on the midsole. The blue pair takes cues from a plate introduced in 1969 with its blue suede uppers and blue RHUDE branding. Both are apt choices, as Vans was founded in 1966, directly in between each plate’s debut.

Last but not least, the red pair speeds forward to 1982 with a vibrant, race-ready upper and a California Sunshine plate printed on the foxing. All three pairs are finalized by giant Jazz Stripes on their upper, leather heel liners, and classic vulcanized midsoles.

Each design will make its debut on rh-ude.com this fall. The black/navy colorways will release on October 26, while the red will land on November 23, almost a month later. The retail price has yet to be announced.

In other Vans news, the brand recently tapped size? for a spooky spiderweb-and-skeleton equipped iteration of the SK8-Hi.