How Vans’ thousands-strong skate rave became the toast of PFW

In June 2023, just over a year ago to the day, Vans had some big news to announce. The iconic skate brand had decided to phase out its Vault line, and in its place would be Vans OTW, a new premium label focused on collaborations, innovative design and elevated silhouettes. To celebrate that launch, the label headed to Paris Fashion Week men’s, building a behemoth skate park under the Pont Alexandre III bridge, and throwing a massive party to go along with it.

Though last year’s event lives on in fashion week history, the über-hyped and star-studded launch meant the label couldn’t rest on their laurels when it came to establishing longevity for its new brand. Imagine hosting a giant skate rave, inviting half the fashion world, having King Krule perform at the bash, and the label doesn’t really go anywhere? Not ideal.

It’s a good job, then, that that wasn’t really an option for the Vans design team. Back then, OTW launched with an inaugural collab with LA-based artist Sterling Ruby, and since then they’ve been hard at work making sure their OTW offering is an obviously more upmarket offering than its regular sneakers. “It’s about elevating the fit, feel and comfort,” explained Dylan Petrenka, design director, footwear, in Vans’ Parisian showroom last week. “The canvas is eight ounce, the suede is premium… all the materials themselves are dialled up.”

As well as a second collaboration with Ruby, upcoming drops with Undercover, Parra and Satoshi Nakamoto, plus an apparel collaboration with Homme Girls, it soon become clear that Vans weren’t planning to rest on those laurels after the success of the launch, but putting the work in to make sure OTW would really go the distance. So, how did the brand plan on celebrating those 12 months of hard work and dedication? Well, by returning to the scene of the crime, and going even harder of course.

For this June’s SS25 edition of Paris Fashion Week, the label left the Pont Alexandre behind and instead headed for the Sacré Cœur Basilica for a party of even greater proportions. The basilica is known for its extensive grounds, and the label had absolutely no trouble filling them up for a day-to-night rave with over 5,000 people. And while the party was open to friends and fans, it was fashion week after all, so joining those punters at the Sacré Cœur were front row regulars like Omar Apollo, Emily Ratajkowski, Alva Claire, Malick Bodian and Devyn Garcia, plus designers like Mike Eckhaus, Haider Ackermann and Jonathan Anderson.

Nestled on top of the hill of Montmartre, skaters jammed throughout the day on the giant, checkerboard ramp installation, before dusk settled and the party really began to ramp up. Kaytranada kicked things off, playing his usual blend of R&B and house cuts, plus a bassy remix of Tinashe’s meme anthem “Nasty”. After sets from Busy P and Tatyana Jane, it was then time for legendary French duo Justice to take over the decks, shutting the outdoor venue down with classics like “Tthhee Ppaarrttyy” and new banger “Muscle Memory” from the recently released Hyperdrama. As midnight loomed and guests started to depart Sacré Cœur, it was abundantly clear that Vans had blown last year’s party out the water, its Paris Fashion Week takeover once again becoming the toast of the town. Now what are they gonna do next year to top that?