Vans’ New Hybrid Has HEYDUDE Energy
Vans’ latest drop taps into the brand’s coastal heritage with a laid-back moccasin-meets-sneaker design.
The Vans Forager, featuring subtle checkerboard detailing and a no-fuss slip-on vibe, isn’t your typical waffle-soled Vans skate shoe. In fact, it looks more like the casual, uber-cushioned footwear of the comfort-oriented label HEYDUDE.
The relaxed shape, earthy color palette, and slipper-light comfort make it feel closer to HEYDUDE’s ubiquitous moccasin-style shoes than anything you’d typically find in a skatepark. But it also feeds into Vans’ heritage: Before being co-opted by skaters, its footwear was designed as deck shoes.
The Vans Forager might feel like an anomaly amongst Vans' current skate-centered output, but this shoe's closer to Vans' original mission statement than you might think. The same goes for a heap of similar more formal-leaning shoes coming from the Californian label of late: We’ve seen loafers, boat shoes, and even fuzzy mule hybrids from the Vans over the past year.
The Vans Forager is just the latest of its hybrid, deck shoe-adjacent models. And priced at just over $60, they’re dangerously close to impulse-buy territory.
However, unfortunately, the Forager isn't easy to find stateside, since it is made exclusively for Vans' Japanese market. Never been a better time to learn how to proxy!
