SZA‘s love of Vans has resulted in a multi-year partnership with the brand. The singer has been tapped as Vans’ first artistic director, a role that will require her to bring her vision into the reimagining of campaigns and the creation of exclusive collections.
“I’ve been wearing Knu Skools and other styles for years, they’ve always had an ethos I connect with,” she says in a statement. “As Artistic Director, my mission is to show that joy, community, creativity, and fashion are all still intersectional. That humanity, culture, and connection are still the access points.”
“I’ve learned that bravery and curiosity are the cures for uncertainty, it’s a lifestyle and Vans champions that spirit,” she continues. “They stand where I stand, and I’m honored to invite a whole bunch of people to stand Off the Wall with us.”
For SZA’s debut campaign, photographed by Sophie Jones, she rocks the classic Vans Knu Skools, capturing the “ethos of skate culture,” which she tells Vogue includes “a lot of perseverance, trying and failing.”
“I have this yearn to bring things back to deeply human spaces—AI is making me feel weird. What I’m noticing is that people are yearning to escape—to go into nature and the wilderness,” she tells the mag. “I feel like nature has poor marketing: I want to be part of the best marketing that nature could have, and be the best marketing for corny, cringey humanity.”
She says she’ll creatively go as far as she can when it comes to designing, noting, “I’m still a novice, but I know color, and I know silhouette.” She says she also plans to keep the sneakers affordable.
“I love cool, comfy things that don’t have a sprinkle of exclusion or elitism,” SZA says. “I’m not trying to make Vans into Bottega Veneta. I just want people to feel excited about being active.”
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