A new collaboration between the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and Vans aims to honor the dedication of postal workers who “tirelessly trudge through sweltering heat, bone-numbing cold, and pouring rain to bring customers their mail and parcels,” the VF Corp-owned company said.
“There’s an inherent sense of hardiness associated with USPS employees, which has made their blue uniforms (and the instantly recognizable USPS eagle logo) unexpected icons of workwear style,” said Vans, which has licensed those markers for a footwear and apparel collection.
The line reimagines four classic Vans sneaker silhouettes, including the the Sk8-Hi MTE-1, the Authentic, and the Old Skool, set to drop Nov. 29, and the Sk8-Hi Reissue, which will launch exclusively at Foot Locker on Jan. 20. A “Bulk Mail” hoodie and pocket T-shirt, along with a beanie marked with the Priority Mail symbol, will also debut later this month.
The Vans collab comes after Nike in March teased a version of its iconic Air Force 1 covered in USPS-inspired design details, from an upper material reminiscent of the postal service’s white mailers to a sticker bearing the Nike logo that bore an uncanny resemblance to the one USPS issues for Priority Mail parcels. USPS hit back at the company for using the agency’s intellectual property without its consent. In May, the pair came to a resolution, with Nike agreeing to license the agency’s identifying markers for use on the shoe, which dropped the same month.
Vans’ Sk8-Hi MTE-1 high-top sneaker references the USPS dress blues on its textile upper, and is reimagined for winter weather with a vulcanized all-terrain outsole, a fleece-lined collar and reflective tongue badge. Meanwhile, the low-top lace-up Authentic includes a light blue denim upper and USPS branding from heel to toe. A tongue tag features the USPS eagle emblem and the words “Officially Licensed.”
The Vans Old Skool low-top leather sneaker features USPS red and blue on the shoe’s recognizable “Jazz stripe” along with its collar trim, while a mail logo below the midsole and a stamped tongue reinforce the agency branding. The Foot Locker exclusive Sk8-Hi Reissue is “a Priority Mail box in shoe form,” Vans said, noting its all-over Priority Mail print and red laces.
The styles, which range in price from $65-$115, are sold in custom packaging developed to match USPS Priority Mail boxes, and will be available for sale at Vans and Foot Locker stores, as well as their e-commerce channels.