Images by Anthony Acosta //
“Don’t forget to skate in these.” – Piet Parra.
It’s easy to imagine why you might not want to skate in the OTW By Vans X Piet Parra Half Cab; the new release from Vans features Parra’s signature colours, fresh from the artist’s palette, lushly layered over the legendary Half Cab silhouette.
The collab marks a full-circle moment for Piet Parra – he was a Vans-sponsored pro skater in the 90s, always wore the Half Cab. Now a globally renowned artist, he’s applied his signature stylings to the shoe, elevating it and creating something aesthetically special but also functional, as Parra reminds us. “Don’t forget to skate in these.”
“The Half Cab is my favourite skate shoe. An instant classic embraced by the most skilled and stylish skaters of the time,” he says. “I’ve skated through dozens of pairs in every incredible colourway. I wanted to honour the original design while adding a personal touch. As the suede version has always been my favourite, I went with that material and added custom-shaped panels to give them an organic feel, aligning with the aesthetics of my artwork and drawings. The colours were chosen to complement this vision. It feels like a full-circle moment.”
To celebrate the release, Curren Caples revisited the 1989 skate documentary video Ban This, a favourite of Parra’s, which features a memorable part by Steve Caballero, who the Half Cab is named after.
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The OTW by Vans x Piet Parra Suede Half Cab will be available soon in Australia at Up There Store & Above The Clouds. Keep an eye on their social channels for release information. Head here for everything Vans.
