Sneaker collaborations are so commonplace that we hardly bat an eye when some sportswear giant brings on an indie artist to "design" a forgettable colorway for a forgettable shoe. What's a brand gotta do to earn our attention?
According to Connor Tingley, a successful joint effort — sneaker or not — demands intention. Emphasis on that last bit.
"[Art and design] can interact with each other in healthy ways that allow for their domains to remain distinctive without muddying each other," he explains to Highsnobiety. "In real estate, it's location, location, location but, in art and design, it’s INTENTION, INTENTION, INTENTION. Storytelling."
Tingley is the 28-year-old artist whose resume includes Vogue, a makeup palette with François Nars, and COOL, his Los Angeles-based creative collective and studio.
He may be young but Tingley isn't a flash in the pan. Over the past several years, his art has been exhibited everywhere from Bucharest to Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. Michèle Lamy tapped Tingler for her Venice Biennale showcase and Tingley originals are collected by everyone from A$AP Rocky to Cindy Crawford.
So why Vans? Why now?
"[With] Vans, I wanted to explore what an iconic shoe and pattern meant to me," Tingley said. "Collaboration allows for a restraint of working within the boundaries of a brand or product... to instill new form and story into already functional objects.
"I grew up skating and wearing Vans, an affordable shoe for everyone! I wanted to discuss my storytelling through patina, explaining the symbolism and history behind the checkered Vans. I wanted to talk about where we are all going: unity."
The messaging behind Tingley's Vans collaboration is inspired by Britain's late '70s ska scene, also known as two-tone, an innate proposition of unity. Black and white musicians sharing the stage, playing the music they love, wearing black and white Vans sneakers.
Originally, the Vans checkerboard was both a reference to founder Paul van Doren's days on the racetrack and a design aped from skaters of the day, who would sketch the pattern onto their blank Vans sneakers. But Vans isn't shy about acknowledging the two-tone crossover in its brand history.
Tingley's hand-drawn Vans collaboration brings it all together, blurring the boundaries between the checkerboard, splashing inky residue atop Authentic and Slip-On sneakers.
"I felt that the checkered pattern was a rigid depiction of unity, with the black and white separated by hard edged lines," Tingley exclaimed. "I felt unity would look like, rather, a chaotic embrace of togetherness.
"To hand draw a checkered pattern on their scuffed-up Vans was more than just a trendy thing to do, it was solidarity. Eventually things that are true can become a trend, and then become tired leaving those looking for truth to find it in history."
This storytelling is core to Tingley's practice, whether he's exploring the realms of art or design, which he emphatically distinguishes — "Art is not design. Design is not art!"
Even still, there's a consistent throughline in his work.
"My art and design projects are distinctive NOT in their language, but INTENTION! For any collaboration I do, my intention is to come with both art and design, and tell a STORY," Tingley enthused.
Dover Street Market gets it. As today's de-facto multi-band retailer, who better than to help release Tingley's Vans on October 22? In fact, there's even a special set of Vans designed exclusively for DSM.
"Dover Street Market has been a supporter of me for years; we did a book release in 2019," said Tingley. "DSM is cream of the crop, the Gagosian Gallery of fashion (for lack of a better example).
"We always support those who support us. That's how we climb the ladder without missing a rung. It is really cool to have their cosign."
With two wildly different collaborations behind him, what's next for Connor Tingley?
For starters, he promises an eyewear collaboration that explores "'SUN' in relation to 'GLASSES.'" Nothing more concrete than that but you can bet that they'll have plenty of "INTENTION, INTENTION, INTENTION."
