Vans: Sporty, Functional, Fashionable
It’s taken some time, but Cypress, Calif.–based Vans has debuted a women’s swim line featuring styles that embody the company’s California-born free spirit.
Vans, of course, is known for its footwear, having pioneered the CVO (circular vamped oxford) way back in the ’60s and then for pushing the envelope with funky prints and patterns in the ’80s. Remember the checkerboard shoe from “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”?
Its initial rollout of bandeaux, hipsters and suspender bikinis is being distributed only through its company-owned stores, but Vans is gearing up for a possible expansion into wholesale channels for Spring 2010, said company spokesperson Maria Boschetti.
There are reversible styles in neon-blue and checked-green patterns, one-pieces and ruched bikinis featuring kaleidoscope prints, and black suits in European cuts. Styling falls in line with Vans’ apparel collection. All swim pieces are made with poly/spandex and are retail priced at about $60 per set, though they are also offered as separates.
“It embodies Vans. The fit is great, and it’s functional, too, as our girls can be athletic,” Boschetti said.
For more information, visit www.vans.com. —Robert McAllister
