I’m going to go out on a limb and say Vans are by far the brand of shoes that is used the most when it comes to customizing a pair of sneakers. Of course there are the ever so popular Nike Dunk and Air Force 1s that are often used along with the Converse All Star Chuck Taylors. But they are easily beat out by the all white Vans Slip ons when it comes to ease of customizing: they are canvas, no prepping needed, great large space and they are relatively affordable at about $45 after taxes. Vans also probably has more history in the world of custom than any other brand as their very first run of shoes were custom size and colors made in the customers choices. If you think you know Vans do yourself a favor and read this Sneaker Freaker Interview with Vans owner, Steve Van Doren
Because of this history and frequent use I’ve decided to start up the “Vans Custom Shoes of the Day” posts. First on the list is a pair of previously all white Slip ons by Kyozo Kicks adorned with a Henna inspired pattern. Taking inspiration from the Indian body art known as Henna that uses extract from the Henna plant to basically dye the skin a dark brown in very intricate patterns. Kyozo drew the similar but not exactly the same patterns in pencil and went over them in a simple bronze shade of paint. Kyozo Kicks created this pair as one of a few select artists that were asked to customize 5 pairs of Vans that were put on display earlier this year to promote Vans Custom Culture initiative in their Vans retail shops.
To have him create a Henna body art pair of custom Vans shoes for you visit his website here: KyozoKicks.com
