• by Danielle Oster , August 8, 2023

It’s a match made in California.

Costa Mesa-based footwear and apparel company Vans, a staple of skateboarding culture for decades, rolled up to the Barbie brand partnership party about a week after the Greta Gerwig blockbuster had its summer-stealing opening weekend, in a fashionably late entrance 

An initial announcement teaser hinted at an earlier release around the time of the movie’s debut, so it would appear it was pushed back for some reason. As of deadline, Vans hadn’t responded to questions about the release.

The Barbie deal might have appeared with more fanfare, particularly given Vans’ recent struggles.  Parent company VF Corporation recently reported Vans revenue was down 22% year-over-year as part of a broader decline of 8% for the Denver-based company reported for its first fiscal quarter of 2024.

The collection features a stackform shoe in hot pink, a high-platform stackform shoe in light pink/white, multicolored slide-on sandals, and the adorable Barbie style 93 DX shoe in white with pink trim and bow accent. Each comes enclosed in a Barbie-inspired clear box packaging designed to look like what you’d find Barbie inside at the toy store. Beyond footwear, there are also such items as an oversized Tee, a long-sleeved crop top, and a mini backpack in the same swirled mult-color pattern as the slide sandals.

The Vans x Barbie collection is the latest in a line of collaborative releases for Vans, including partnerships with designer and multidisciplinary artist Nicole McLaughlin, New York-based fashion label Collina Strada,  leading gummy candy brand Haribo, and Netflix’s “Cobra Kai” and “Stranger Things” series.