Vans is releasing an exclusive run of Mac Miller-inspired Authentic sneakers that pay homage to the late rapper and his lasting hip-hop legacy in the lead up to the fifth anniversary of Miller's passing.
As a tribute to to Mac Miller and Swimming, his final album, Vans preparing to drop a minimalist take on its low-top Authentic, a sneaker worn consistently by the rapper on countless occasions throughout his career, including Miller's memorable performance at Coachella 2017.
Each of the Mac Miller-themed Vans were created in collaboration with Miller's estate, which aided in selecting appropriate motifs that both fit Miller's personal style and fit as a tribute to the musician.
Here, Vans' classic Authentic sneaker wears a typical black canvas upper adorned a white yin-and-yang symbol, a visual cue synonymous with Miller and surrounded by a Swimming reference, and "MAC MILLER 1992 TIL ∞" text that wraps the vulcanized rubber midsole, reflecting both Miller's birth year and his eternal influence.
Vans revealed the Mac Miller sneakers on August 2, the day before it prepared to actually release them in partnership with Miller's estate.
Specifically, Vans x Mac Miller will land on August 3 exclusively via the official Mac Miller webstore.
A percentage of all proceeds generated by the Vans sneakers' sales will be given to the Mac Miller Fund, an initiative that provides young musicians with resources.
To this day it feels apt that Swimming, a self-produced album with cameos from peers like Dev Hynes and J. Cole, was Mac Miller's parting gift to the world. Subsequent demos and leftover songs have since been released but Swimming was the final Miller project to bear his direct influence until completion.
That album only offered shockingly prescient insight into the mind of a troubled artist, thoughtfully exploring the obstacles that Miller struggled to overcome prior to his death.
Swimming is "an album that feels how getting older feels: relinquishing the ideal of perfection and learning how to live with yourself as you are," one reviewer said at the time.
Miller's sudden death in 2018 rocked the music industry. Miller, often referred to as "the good guy of hip-hop," was only 26 at the time of his unexpected passing.
As Miller himself rapped on "2009," a Swimming standout: "A life ain't a life 'til you live it / I was diggin' me a hole / Big enough to bury my soul."
