If you’ve ever seen a Feng music video – or, honestly, so much so merely follow the budding UK underground rapper on Instagram – you know how much he loves his Vans.

Despite hailing from South London, thousands of miles removed from Vans’ Southern California birthplace, Feng rarely finds himself without a pair of Authentics, Old Skools, or Classic Slip-Ons on his feet, the footwear imprint a staple of his “positive punk” personal style palette.

Fresh off his highly Cali-coded Weekend Rockstar album, and even fresher off his stateside Summer Smash performance – which he obviously handled whilst donning a pair of purple Authentics – the latest place the rapper is rocking his messy bun, tie-dye tee, and arm full of festival wristbands is in the Vans Fall 2026 lookbook.

The carefree, honorary Californian is the ideal candidate to lead the label’s latest seasonal “Off the Wall” campaign, finding himself fronting the brand’s slate of edgy new Authentic Mohair styles alongside a cast of fellow boundary-breaking tastemakers including fellow underground musician Ecca Vandal, surfer Mikey February, and skateboarder Ruby Lilley.

On the way to board his flight to Summer Smash, Feng made time to chop it up with us about all things Vans: the new campaign, his favorite silhouettes, on-stage rotation, and what exactly an official Feng x Vans collaborative model would look like.

Elaina Bernstein: You’re always rocking a pair of Vans. In your music videos, in your Instagram photos, we rarely see you without a pair on. What was the first pair of Vans sneakers that you owned?

Feng: The first pair I owned? Wow. I’ve had so many pairs of Vans ever since I was six or seven years old. Growing up, all of my friends had at least one pair of Vans. When I first started exclusively rocking Vans, it was because I was looking for a shoe that actually resonated with me authentically. I also didn’t have much money when I first started making music, so I wanted to buy sneakers that I could wear with anything. I got loads of different pairs in so many different colorways and would just match them to my outfits every day.

Why do you feel like Vans resonate with you and your artistry?

Feng: Wearing and styling Vans has always been my way of being creative. I really like how the shoes look when they’re a bit beaten up; that’s always been my vibe. I’ve also always liked drawing on them. It’s so easy to customize Vans, and that’s something I really like doing with my clothes and other DIY pieces.

Do you have a favorite pair of Vans?

Feng: The collaboration they did with Bianca Chandôn. Those are my all-time favorite Vans. Bianca Chandôn is a brand I like a lot.  I just fell in love with the shoes because they made the sole really dirty and worn in.

What pair are you wearing on-stage for Summer Smash?

Feng: The ones I’m wearing right now. How do I switch the camera? Let me show you. [flips camera]. These are my go-to sneakers, but I’m usually either wearing these or the Bianca Chandôn x Vans to perform.

How do you feel like these new Vans Fall 2026 styles align with your current personal style?

Feng: Right now, Vans is really breaking boundaries. That’s how I feel like we’re similar. Specifically, the silhouette I’m wearing in the campaign is crazy. It has these insane spikes and fur detailing everywhere. They let me style the shoes however I wanted, which was important to me, and I chose to style the laces in a really weird way, too. I like how Vans is leaning into this edginess, and that’s what’s so exciting about all the new footwear the brand is releasing.

How are these new styles going to fit into your rotation?

Feng: I don’t know the exact silhouette, but the ones I wore in the campaign are my new favorites. They look good with my skinny jeans.

What are some memories or stories you associate with Vans?

Feng: Honestly, I feel like, for me, the story is in the Vans themselves. I make the story in the Vans. I like to write shit on them, so when I do something memorable, I’ll find a pen and just write something on my Vans so I can remember the moment. Those are the memories. I put the memories on my shoe.

Are there any particular moments you remember writing on your Vans?

Feng: When I made my song “Running Wild,” I wrote that down. I’ll write quotes from songs. When I finished my album Weekend Rockstar, I wrote that down on a lot of my Vans. I also just draw symbols that resonate with me – like a peace sign or the cross symbol. I like to customize them.

Speaking of your recent album, this campaign feels very Weekend Rockstar-coded. How do you feel like your work with Vans this season embodies the energy of the record?

Feng: It’s all rooted in togetherness. I liked how there are a lot of cool people involved in this campaign. Vans brought loads of people from different places, and connected us all over the fact that we’re all creatives who are breaking boundaries. That’s what Weekend Rockstar is all about: everybody in the whole world coming together and doing something great. That’s the ethos, and I feel like that’s what really resonated with this campaign.

Visually, my photoshoot really resonated with me with the direction it went in. It was kind of grungy, edgy, but also colorful. They let me style the Vans however I wanted to, and I think that license to just be able to do what I want is also the ethos of the album.

If you were to design your own pair of Vans, what would they look like?

Feng: My ideas change all the time, so the ideas I have now for my shoes would probably change by the time I’d actually get to make the shoe. But right now, I’d put a bunch of palm trees on it with some sort of tie-dye accents. I wouldn’t go too crazy with the tie-dye, but I’d have, like, maybe tie-dye on the lace tips or something. Maybe some purple – kind of like a beach, sunset vibes. But I would also want to make it feel really grungy, so I’d make the sole really dirty and run down, like the Bianca Chandôn Vans. I’d have an accent or writing on the side that says something meaningful. I would also encourage people to write stuff on it, so when I sell the Vans, I’d put a pen inside the shoebox and tell them to write shit on them.

People at shows are always like, “Yo, sign my Vans!” And I’m like, “Why don’t you just write, why don’t you sign your own Vans?” Like, I’m not trying to write on your Vans, bro. You know what I’m saying? Write something meaningful to you on your Vans.