The Vans x MOMA Collab Includes Shoes & Sweatshirts With Monet & Dali-Inspired Designs

There are shoes, and then there are shoes. As in, there are the things you put on your feet to go places, and then there are the iconic kicks you'd almost rather put on a shelf and admire, like a piece of art in a museum. Falling into that latter category is The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)'s new collaboration with Vans, the already iconic footwear brand beloved by celebs of all stripes. Including sizes for both adults and kids, the collection's first wave launches on Sept. 30 and will include shoes, apparel and accessories featuring artworks by Claude Monet, Salvador Dalí, and Vasily Kandinsky; a second installment in November will feature artists Edvard Munch, Jackson Pollock, Lybov Popova and Faith Ringgold (all in MoMA’s collection) will be given the Old Skool treatment.

Both launches will feature art represented in the museum’s collection, chosen by Vans in collaboration with MoMA, according to a press release. As fans know, Vans is no stranger to awesome collabs; just a few limited-edition lines from the past include collections inspired by Nintendo, NASA, David Bowie, Public Enemy, and many more.

“MoMA is excited to finally reveal the Vans collaboration as they, too, have a rich legacy of supporting artistic expression,” Robin Sayetta, Associate Director of Licensing and Partnerships at MoMA, said in the release. “We pursue a limited number of product collaborations and our goal is always to engage a broader audience with modern art. We are thrilled to reach art lovers around the world through Vans’ global network.”

Salvador Dalí's Surrealist works make surprisingly great sneakers. "The Persistence of. Memory 1931" has been "interpreted on to the medial and lateral panels of the Vans Old Skool Twist," as explained in the press release. Even cooler, the "construction of the footwear model has been twisted to go beyond the perception of reality."

Vans and MoMA showcases Claude Monet's "Water Lilies 1914-1926," works made in Monet’s later years at his home in Giverny.

But perhaps best of all, the Vans and MoMA collaboration will also include an exclusive kid’s and toddlers range "focusing on color and interactivity." Vans teamed up with MoMA educators to develop a Classic Slip-On with hook-and-loop shapes, "which allows kids to customize their shoes and provides a hands-on creative experience," per the press release, while the Old Skool style "offers a unique opportunity to educate children about color theory and color mixing by creating a strong distinction between primary and secondary colors in its aesthetic." Both shoes will include a special hang tag affixed with a "genuine color wheel."

Styles for kids will range in price from $35 for the Toddler's Sneaker Slip-On MoMA Shapes to $60 for the Sneaker Junior Old Skool MoMA Colorwheel. The first wave of Vans and MoMA styles will be available beginning Sept. 30, 2020, on Vans.com, at Vans retail, MoMA Design Store locations, store.moma.org, and select retail locations where Vans are sold.