OTW by Vans collaborates with Julian Klincewicz on a new collection shaped by Joyous Chorus, the artist’s world of everyday sketches, textures, personal symbols, and Southern California memory. In an exclusive conversation with DSCENE Magazine editor Katarina Doric, Klincewicz discusses the phrase behind the project, his early San Diego references, and his first collaboration with OTW. The contemporary artist, director, photographer, and musician brings his visual language to two archival Vans silhouettes, apparel, and accessories, continuing his relationship with the brand through his fourth footwear project with Vans.
SNEAKERS
The collection opens through footwear, revisiting the Old Skool 36 and Style 31 with suede overlays, leather details, and custom labels that feature a road sketch from Klincewicz’s 11-year ritual of daily to-do list drawings. Both models also include a custom Roo charm, created in honor of his golden retriever and red fox lab mix. The Old Skool 36 arrives in Ivy Green and Mango Mojito Orange, while the Style 31 comes in Ink.
Joyous Chorus feels personal, communal, and slightly unruly as a phrase. What did it give you as a starting point for this collaboration?
“Ah thank you for that! The starting point was sort of two-fold. I’d come up with the phrase a bit before starting this collection – it was sort of a response to a previous projected entitled “Solo Tumult,” which was a book of images & text. The whole work was really about a sort of existing search for meaning. After making that, I was thinking about what the opposite could be and slowly arrived on the idea of the “joyous chorus.” As the OTW by Vans collection started taking shape – really inspired by early 2000’s San Diego and my experience of moving there from Chicago as a kid – I sort of found that the idea of the “joyous chorus” really fit with my memories around that time – many new friends, inspirations, communities – that all came together to create a very full & fun life in Southern California.”
That early 2000s San Diego reference runs through the collection’s color, texture, and worn-in attitude. Klincewicz looks to skating, circus, music, new friendships, sunshine, and the beach, drawing from childhood memories of long days at the skatepark. He imagined the pieces already broken in, marked by use, weather, skating, and personal traces. Each footwear style features a cushioned insole, soft padded collar, Sola Foam ADC, co-branded Joyous Chorus footbed, OTW heel scab, and Vans waffle outsole. The updates support pieces made to gain character through wear.
The apparel and accessories extend the same language through grounded materials and hand-drawn artwork. The Collared Fleece comes in a French terry cotton blend with a soft vintage wash and a zipper pull Roo keychain. Vintage Washed Tee Shirts in Mandarin Red and Pepper Orange feature screen-printed Joyous Chorus artwork, while the Carpenter Pant uses durable canvas, pleated pockets, custom rivets, and contrast stitching. The Tote Bag adds antique brass hardware, screen-printed artwork, and a Roo keychain, while the Fuzzy Sock Pack brings jacquard artwork to a wool-blend essential.
This is your fourth footwear project with Vans and your first with OTW. What felt different this time, and what did this collection allow you to say now?
“I know – I’m still so excited to be working with Vans across so many collections. In someways this one hasn’t felt that different from the others. I think each collection has been very much a personal statement of just what’s capturing my imagination at a given time or something I’m thinking about. This is definitely the first time I’ve sort of explored Southern California specifically as an inspiration though, which feels exciting because I think in that regard Vans as a brand, and myself have a lot of shared history & cultural reference points in Skating, Music, and Art. I’m also so excited to be re-launching the Style31, which I feel is really a forgotten classic. So biggest love to the whole team at OTW for letting us do it!”
The return of the Style 31 gives the collection one of its strongest archival moments, placing a lesser-seen Vans silhouette inside Klincewicz’s personal memory system. Alongside the Old Skool 36, the model connects the project to Vans history while keeping the focus on lived-in objects, daily rituals, and Southern California as a creative source. The OTW by Vans x Julian Klincewicz collection will be available May 15 online.
