Vans and Sole Classics Partner with Pretty Good Co. and Sunday Pizza for a Hand-Dyed “Carmen” Authentic Collaboration

Vans and Ohio’s Sole Classics are reconnecting this Summer for a brand new Authentic “Carmen” collaboration. This latest piece is a nod to the brand’s first-ever Era LX “Carmen” that released back in 2013, but it’s been reimagined by a duo of Sole Classics employees and local designers Sunday Pizza and Dan Dover of Pretty Good Co.

In October 1963, Jack Henderson — a high school football player — set the record for the longest run in Ohio school football history but after running out of the stadium after his miraculous touchdown, he was never seen again. Nearly a month later, golden brown cleats were discovered near Lake Eerie in Cleveland, Ohio and the legend has it that they were Hendersons kicks. In 2013, Dionte Johnson — the owner of Sole Classics — paid his tributes to the late football player by designing the aforementioned Vault by Vans Era LX, but 86 of the 200 pairs at the time did not pass the quality control check. To essentially make up for this unfortunate production issue, Johnson and Sole Classics have hand-dyed 86 pairs of the classic white Authentics and crafted them with custom leatherwork and Plasti-Dip rubber. The gilded fade on the toe boxes is symbolic of Henderson’s story, while the the navy laces translate the 1996 Ohio license plate and his football uniforms from the 1963 season. Moreover the orange Vans tab is brought in to mimic the Ohio plate’s sticker. Bold red outsoles bring together its look and represent the Midwestern state’s “The Heart of it All” slogan.

All 86 pairs of the Sole Classics x Vans Authentic “Carmen” are packaged with a certificate of authenticity and will drop come July 17 exclusively through Sole Classics.

Elsewhere in footwear, Dime and Vans have unveiled its collaborative take atop the new Wayvee silhouette.