Undercover x OTW by Vans Sk8-Hi & Classic Slip-On 98 Release Date

Longtime collaborators Vans and Undercover are back at it again with a new trio of limited-edition footwear styles and perhaps best of all, fans won’t have to wait very long for a chance to purchase the pairs at retail.

The latest Undercover x OTW by Vans collaboration centers on two of the skate brand’s most popular silhouettes, the Classic Slip-On 98 and the Sk8-Hi. Despite being released together in the same collection, both models take distinctly different approaches in their design. 

The group’s Classic Slip-On 98 is printed with artwork from Welsh painter Emma Bennett, whose burning floral arrangements titled “Whence You Came” and “Ardour” cover the retro skate shoe’s left and right canvas uppers, respectively. 

Deviating from the painted florals, the Undercover x Vans Sk8-Hi leans into Undercover founder Jun Takahashi’s signature design language with a grid pattern covering the canvas portion of Black and Egret White colorways. Co-branding is found on the tongue and Undercover branding appears on the midsole of all three shoes.

Aside from its ongoing partnership with Vans, Undercover found itself in the news recently after it was announced the brand would be acquired by fellow Japanese label Human Made. A purchase agreement between the two Japanese brands is expected to be signed in September, with Human Made expected to take full ownership of Undercover in February.

Takahashi and Nigo, founder of Human Made, have a decades-long relationship, which was also recently referenced when both designers worked with Nike on a special-edition “LO2” Air Force 1 ’01. The Nike sneaker alludes to Last Orgy 2, a formative magazine column coauthored by the influential Japanese designers in the early ‘90s. 

The latest Undercover x OTW by Vans collection will be released Wednesday from vans.com/otw. Each style in the collection retails for $110 each.