Crazy to think that Bianca Chandôn has been around for nearly a decade and is only just now getting its first Vans collaboration. Founded by pro skater Alex Olsen in 2014, Bianca Chandôn is simultaneously everything and nothing, a complex expression of Olsen's personal identity and an immensely wearable post-skate label.
Unlike Call Me 917, Olsen's more evocative streetwear brand, Bianca Chandôn is tamer, more restrained. There's a bit of spiritualism in there and a couple granola-y prints to switch things up from season to season, but Bianca Chandôn focuses primarily on its core graphics.
See, while Call Me 917 has expanded into surfboards, towel collabs, and a complete skate team, Bianca Chandôn is basically doing the same thing now that it did almost 10 years ago, which isn't a nitpick.
At the core of Bianca Chandôn are two graphic prints: the eponymous branding that's been repurposed across dozens of tees and the stylized "LOVER" design that's gone on to become a mini-viral hit in and of itself.
Worn by the likes of Frank Ocean, the "LOVER" graphic is perhaps Bianca Chandôn's calling card, having secured the brand a permanent spot within influential stores like Dover Street Market.
However, it'd be too obvious to simply print "LOVER" across a couple of Vans shoes and call it a day so Olsen instead reinterpreted a contemporary Bianca Chandôn design into its collaborative sneakers. The Bianca Chandôn Vans are replete with a sky's-worth of stars, printed across cotton canvas uppers of the Sk8-Hi Reissue VLT LX, Authentic VLT LX, Old Skool VLT LX, and Classic Slip-On VLT LX.
It's kind of a nod to Vans' inimitable checkerboard pattern but also something more. In a press release, Vans explains that the stars reflect "how we are so familiarized with shape throughout our lives within mainstream media." Intriguing!
More tangible is the faux, pre-distressed finish applied to each pair of Bianca Chandôn Vans, which gives the entire collection a pre-thrashed feel, as if they've already been worn within an inch of their life before you even got your hands on 'em.
It's a different approach to a common belief: shoes look better when they're worn. It's just that Bianca Chandôn already did the work for you.
Shop Vans x Bianca Chandôn at vans.com.
