When the United States Parcel Service collaborated with Forever 21 on a streetwear collection in 2019, it seemed like any mashup between unrelated industries was possible. Now it’s Vans – an old school skate shoe company – partnering with Zabar’s for a slip-on sneaker that will certainly raise a lot of smiles — and kick flips. Patch was the first to report this story.
Vans enlisted the help of Nicolas Keller, who also goes by “New York Nico,” to nominate three Manhattan staples to collaborate with for its “Foot The Bill” initiative, which the company created to help small businesses during the pandemic, choosing new ones each week. Joining Zabar’s this week are downtown dim sum restaurant Nom Wah Tea Parlor and CASA Magazines at West 12th Street.
Advertisement
When you think of brands that come to mind when you think of the color orange, Home Depot might be first for many across the country. On the Upper West Side, it’s Zabar’s … and their home colors and home favorites shine beautifully on these shoes.
via Vans
“Our design was inspired by some of our most beloved products, bagels, smoked salmon, cheese, rugelach, and the iconic black and white cookie,” owners of Zabar’s wrote on the Vans website. “We chose orange and white, both as a reference to our traditional color scheme and because they are reminiscent of salmon on our cream cheese!”
via Vans
They’ve also released a new t-shirt, and all proceeds raised from sales of the new merchandise will be donated.
“We plan to use all proceeds from Foot the Bill to increase our support of local food banks and food rescue organizations. Economic instability brought on by the pandemic means that an increasing number of people rely on these programs to put food on the table and we feel that supporting their efforts is more important now than ever,” Zabar’s owners added.
Zabar’s also put out this video to highlight the release:
Now owned by VF Corporation, Van’s got its start when Paul Van Doren opened his first shoe store, ‘The Van Doren Rubber Company,’ in Anaheim, California, 1966.
Zabar’s, now 87 years old, can be found at 2245 Broadway at 80th Street. Here’s a link to the shoes and the t-shirts.
Murray Klein rolls over….