James Van Doren, who co-founded Vans with his brother Paul (and ran the company from 1976 to 1984) died October 12, 2011 at his home in Fullerton, California after a long illness.

“He was a mechanic, a chemist, the brains behind the early shoe,” said his nephew, Steve Van Doren, one of several family members who still work for the company. “In his garage, he made all the molds for the very first soles,” including the trademark waffle design.

The brand gained national recognition when Sean Penn donned a pair of checkerboard slip-on Vans to play the spaced-out Spicoli in the 1982 film “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”

“He guided Vans through the checkerboard era, and we were flying,” said Steve Van Doren, son of company co-founder Paul. “We were the hottest thing going.”

In addition to Char, his wife of 15 years, Van Doren is survived by his sons from a previous marriage, James, Mark and Eric; brothers Paul and Robert; sister Bernice; and five grandchildren. (LA Times)

Lady Gaga poses as her male alter-ego Jo Calderone (who accepted awards on behalf of Gaga last night at the MTV VMAs) for Terry Richardson’s camera. Enjoy the imagery.

More images follow after the click.

Those of you that have read our site a little longer, will know the Back Door very well. It was a door in the back of the aNYthing store in NYC. A-Ron used it to document all the people that came through. The pictures then went up on his Glob (blog). Now he released with his new Off Bowery Productions company a book, filled with Back Door pictures. Definitely a nice book to own, bringing back good memories of the past couple of years! Pics via Hisao Ebisu.
 
More pics after the jump.

UNDRCRWN is a contemporary lifestyle brand fueled by its founders’ passion for sports and fashion.  You probably know that UNDRCRWN’s designs are inspired by basketball, but it is not a performance brand.  Instead, UNDRCRWN products are deeply rooted in the vintage looks, high level of detailing and quality workmanship that represent sports culture from “back in the day.”  While many know UNDCRWN for its clever tees with strong graphics , the brand has quietly been making a name for itself with its full collection of tees, footwear and apparel.  UNDCRWN’s classic designs with a fashion twist, appeal to the sports junkie, the fashionista and everyone in between.

Undrcrwn’s 2007 Holiday line will drop in stores throughout the US, Canada, Europe and Japan later this month.  Undrcrwn has gathered five influential DJ’s to showcase the brand’s new Holiday collection in a 64 page Look-book that will be distributed to all retailers worldwide.  Undrcrwn was able to bring together all the DJ’s for a photo-shoot in their Philadelphia offices, throughout the next week or so we will be bringing you exclusive interviews and visuals of the photo-shoot and interviews with all five DJ’s.

Highsnobiety’s first feature in this series is on King Britt.  A Philadelphia native King Britt has traveled the world and DJ’d, produced or remixed for some of the biggest names in the music industry.  As we will find out his diversity is not just in music but in all aspects of his life.
Read the Feature here…