Maybe it’s the shoe, maybe it’s the mirror selfie…

What ever the reason, there’s no denying that the Vans x Metagirl Premium Old Skool 36 Diva has that pre-iphone, indiesleaze-meets-emo energy. The collab reimagines Vans’ most iconic silhouette to give it this gritty, worn but simultaneously shiny and elevated look – a key combination in the days of ripped jeans, Ed Hardy tees and iPods with dangly earphone cords.

Snakeskin textures, frayed finishes, rhinestone embellishments and oversized gold hardware give the shoe a chaotic, over-accessorised energy that feels pulled straight from a late-2000s Tumblr moodboard — like something worn to a warehouse gig, then photographed in a blurry bathroom mirror at 2am.

“Metagirl is about embracing the feminine that lies within all of us, and ‘Diva’ is the ultimate embodiment of that energy. I spend endless hours scrolling online marketplaces, obsessing over the craftsmanship and details of discontinued 2010s brands or discovering the underworld of vintage belt-buckle 18k-gold-rings. That is where the soul of this shoe lives. This isn’t just footwear, it’s a rebellion reviving a badass facet of femininity in sneakers. It’s divamaxxing. With the encrusted gold buckle and statement hardware, I designed this for the woman who is always told she is ‘too much’. Divas, I got u.” says Caterina Mongillo, Metagirl Founder