One Block Down and Vans' new collaborative project

For its latest project, One Block Down explored Vans' impact on the history of skateboarding. Entitled "Dog Days," the project celebrates the California brand's checkerboard slip-on, a ubiquitous icon of the skate scene since the 1970s, when skateboarding became hyper-popular along with the entire world of California surfers who, after a severe drought hit the region, snuck into suburban backyards to practice their tricks in drained swimming pools. As the discipline spread, Vans became part of the skateboarders' uniform - and especially those decorated with the checkerboard pattern, which grew out of the way young skateboarders colored their white sneakers with marker.

Inspired by the motif's DIY origins, One Block Down has hand-customized a limited batch of Vans slip-ons. Using an intricate arithmetic technique, dozens of beads are on the upper to perfectly follow the lines of the iconic pattern. The work is done in Italy and it takes 10 hours to complete a single shoe. Limited to 107 pairs due to the rarity of the customization, the collection includes three colorways of yellow and black, red and ivory, and green and ivory. In homage to the origins of the skate scene, the "Dog Days" campaign was shot inside a water park, Aquafan Riccione.