Sk8 Hi Platform Leopard / $139.95

Sk8 Hi Platform Leather / $139.95

Vans

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Era 59 Tribal / $99.95

Era 59 Tribal / $99.95

Authentic Hiker / $99.95

Sk8 Hi Platform Leopard / $139.95

Authentic Hiker / $99.95

In-store December

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J ShoesMonarch / $199.95

Raider / $149.95

Volunteer / $169.95

Platypus Exclusive!

In-store December

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Mitchell & Ness $49.95 / In-store now

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How’s this for a line-up!

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, THE KILLERS, YEAH YEAH YEAHS, VAMPIRE WEEKEND, BAND OF HORSES, ANIMAL COLLECTIVE, KASKADE, FOALS, SLEIGH BELLS, OFF!, GRINSPOON AND MANY, MANY MORE!

Vans are giving you the chance to win a DOUBLE PASS to Big Day Out Summer 2013 in Melbourne, Sydney, Gold Coast

and Adelaide. Simply like Platypus on Facebook and enter through the Vans

competition application.

www.facebook.com/platypusshoes

Jon WarrenVans Designer

What does your role at the company entail? My role is to provide creative direction and vision for each category. It’s a pretty tricky position because you want all the lines to provide a consistent story, so from Vault to Classics we look like one brand. I am involved in new model creation, fabrications, colorways, and I also shoot the catalogues for the California Collection line. However, my main role is to support my team and make sure they get to make the best product possible. Without my team we could never get this large of a line off the ground!

How long have you been at Vans? I have been at Vans for 10 years and have been fortunate enough to be a part of the huge growth we have had. The brand has changed a lot but we have a very talented group of people involved to make sure we stay true to our roots.

What inspires you most at your workplace? We have a mini ramp in our warehouse which provides a nice break from designing shoes. Also, a lot of my friends work at Vans so it is a pretty honest place to be. My friends tend to back up some of my visions even when I tend to push some crazy ideas!

What is the process of making a pair of Vans? How many hours would one pair of Vans be in production for? The process of making one pair of shoes is around 18 months. From beginning to end, 1000 people touch the shoe before it gets to the customer and seeing the process go down is nothing but a miracle. We come up with trend boards, sketch new designs, argue if we are pushing the line forward enough, more sketches, start developing new materials with vendors, and then start laying out designs. From there we see two rounds of samples and present them to the sales groups, make revisions, see the shoes again, repeat another sales meeting, make more revisions, and fine tune the shoes for production.

It is a very open process because we all care about making the best shoes possible. Shoe design is so much more than drawing, the back end is where the magic is and once you figure that out you can really move the dial.

What are the benefits of the waffle sole? And how has this developed over the years? The benefits of the Vans waffle sole is that the rubber is the stickiest and best compound for skateboarding. Without even knowing it, Paul Van Doren (founder of Vans) made the first specific skateboard sole! The waffle sole debuted in 1966 on the Authentic – Vans’ very first shoe – and skateboarders immediately flocked to it for the stickiness and grip it gave them when they skated.

When the original waffle sole came out it was only the diamond pattern from toe to heel until the sole started crack-ing under the ball of the foot. Because money was tight they adjusted the mold by adding eight support bars in the mold creating the star pattern and created what we now know as the Vans Waffle sole. After that we haven’t changed a thing, it will always be our unique position in the market place and why mess with perfection?

What is the best seller from Vans across the globe? This changes all the time, but at the moment our most popular shoe has to be the Authentic.

What Vans are your wearing now? Today I am wearing a pair of Vans x Liberty shoes that have not come out yet... we design about 18 months out, so get ready for some unexpected gems from Vans!

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