The brand Vans has long been synonymous with style.
From leisure-wear to action sports, Vans has dominated its competition.
The transition from lowbrow to highbrow is quite the trend these days, but not everyone does it right. It seems that Vans has a great eye for young talent and they are making the move seem effortless.  NYC based designer Lanie Barcena is no stranger fashion. Having cut her teeth designing for the likes of Rocawear and Triple 5 Soul, she branched out, creating her own brand Hellz Bellz.



This February Vans and Hellz (above) will come together to release 2 limited edition styles:  The Hadley and The Sophie. The styles are a reflection of Barcena's personal style, “tomboy chic” and edgy feminine”.
According to Barcena, “The Hadley(above) is inspired by my love of vintage motorcycle boots with zippers and metal lace eye hooks detailing the black leather high top. The Sophie(below) is an updated saddle shoe that's been stripped down and built from the ground up with Hellz' unique design aesthetic: Die cuts, metallic color blocking and buckle strap details”



The artist/designer collaboration is nothing new. It is however refreshing to see a company follow through with what the designer envisions, rather than just updating an already existing shoe. This lends instant validation to Vans and will bode well for them in the world of limited edition fashion. It's nice to see that Vans kept the price point low as well. Just because you may be strapped for cash doesn't mean you will have to sacrifice style.

The Hadley retails for $85.00 and the Sophie is $65.00.
You can cop these at Karmaloop, Wish Atlanta, Kicks/Hi, Undefeated and Conveyor.

Normally I write about Boston based artists, but I was on the road to New York City last weekend and while I was there I got to catch up with Brooklyn based artist Tomokazu Matsuyama.

Bored and restless, I hopped on a bus from from Boston to NYC last weekend. I took the Fung Wah, which also carries the dubious moniker, the Flame Wah, as the buses have been known to burst into fire during mid trip.  So, grabbing my best flame retardant gear, I head out to the bus station. After being dropped off in Chinatown (safe and sound) the first stop was at Joshua Barash's studio out in Queens. 

Josh is one the hardest working artists I know. Not only does he have a 40+ hour a week  job, but he turns out a huge amount of high quality work at a dizzying pace. I guess you could consider Josh a painter, though instead of a brush, he uses an exacto knife.