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Skaters want you to stop wearing Old Skool Vans because it’s ‘cultural appropriation’

Dude, that’s totally not cool


It's undeniable that recently, everyone and their nan has been spotted in a pair of Old Skool Vans. And unfortunately for most of us, the shoe has been branded as basic and "bait."

It gets worse though. Not only have Vans been officially declared dead, but skaters are actually calling people out for culturally appropriating them.

Yes, you read that right. Have you ever stopped to think that the footwear on your feet is offensive to people like… skaters?

Yeah…I'm not sure that's how cultural appropriation works, considering skaters aren't an oppressed minority. But there were a few people saying this, so I went down to the hype capital of the UK, Shoreditch, to investigate.

There I met a skater named Jack, who is also a Sales Assistant at trainer shop Sneakersnstuff. When asked what he thought about the "crepidemic" he said: "I don't want to sound like a snob but people are appropriating skating culture.

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"It's annoying that people are coming in a pair of Vans and Thrasher jumpers with no clue that they're wearing skateboarding clothing. Those people are culture vultures, not wearing them for the same reasons others are."

And it's true that more people are wearing them. The Sales Assistants at Offspring (part of Office) have said that Vans sales have gone up for the British shoe retailer, making up 10 per cent of their total sales last month. That is a lot considering they don't just sell trainers.

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I heard the same thing from department manager at the Shoreditch Urban Outfitters, who said "every other pair sold are Vans." And apparently, there are always shortages on the Old Skool pairs.

So not only are Vans basic, wearing them is also "cultural appropriation." Great, I guess I'll stop existing then.