How Haven Created a Skate Shoe Worthy of Dieter Rams (EXCLUSIVE)
HAVEN's design practice is informed by the same useful cues that informed the golden age of Braun, the century-old German design titan. Strip away extraneity; leave only the essential qualities. The throughline was already obvious but HAVEN's new collaboration with skate company Vans lays it all out in the open.
Shot on the feet of Peter Kapos, founder of Systems Studio and the Dieter Rams-fixated Das Programm archive (which also makes room for folks like Peter Hartwein and Gerd Alfred Muller), HAVEN's OTW by Vans Authentic 44 Vibram sneaker looks right at home amidst Braun clocks and Vitsœ furniture.
"Designers like Dieter Rams were always thinking about clarity, usefulness, and longevity, and that philosophy resonates with us," HAVEN cofounder Arthur Chmielewski tells Highsnobiety. "A lot of our thinking comes back to wearability and everyday use. Small functional improvements can make a big difference over time."
In both tasteful tonal white and and two-tone monochrome, the collaborative Vans demonstrate HAVEN's knack for a tasteful revision. It helps that the shoe was already nicer than the average, of course.
The original shape at the heart of it all, Vans' Authentic sneaker, is a certified skate shoe classic. But OTW By Vans, the skate giant's higher-end label focused on collaborations and special editions, made it better by retooling the shoe with sumptuous materials and a sturdy Vibram outsole. This version was called the Authentic 44 Siped Vibram.
HAVEN approached this shoe like a sculptor tackling a black of clay, gently pushing and prodding rather than hacking away.
"For us, design usually stops if the changes start to feel obvious or decorative, it’s a sign we’ve gone too far," explains Chmielewski. "We’re always trying to make adjustments that improve the product without overwhelming it. When the design still feels familiar, but slightly more resolved, that’s usually when we know we’re done."
This is par for HAVEN's course. Much like how Rams' practice was guided by elegant restraint, HAVEN follows in the master's footsteps by getting to the heart of what really matters. Its seasonal collections are demarcated by intelligent touches that subtly improve everyday wear. Its collaborative shoes, be they leather lace-ups or high-tech runners, are selected for their inherent usefulness and gently improved for daily use.
It's a purpose-driven approach to garment design that nevertheless results in beautiful objects, which is the natural outcome of form following function.
On HAVEN's Vans Authentic 44, the shape is unchanged while the details are anything but. HAVEN's preferred textural balance is epitomized by hairy suede offset by rugged nubuck with a chunk of matching texture on the heel, while the tongue is subtly perforated for enhanced airflow and the top eyestay is replaced with a little silver hexagon, one of HAVEN's quiet signatures. Intelligent additions, nothing loud.
"We’ve always been drawn to tonal palettes and material contrast. It’s a way to add depth without relying heavily on bold color or graphic elements," notes Chmielewski, citing the way that the Vibram outsole alone shifts the feel of a classic Vans skate shoe. "That tension between refinement and toughness is something we come back to often in our work.
All that and you can still wear 'em anywhere, as you'd expect of any good pair of Vans.
"With something like the Authentic, the challenge is knowing when to step back and let the original form do its job," Chmielewski says. "Ultimately our goal was to make the best Authentic we possibly could."
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