VANS X WP LAVORI IN CORSO

Founded in Bologna, Italy in 1982, WP Lavori in Corso is the brainchild of Giuseppe Calori and his daughter Cristina. Revered for bringing the distribution of multiple brands to Italy – Vans being one of the first – WP Lavori in Corso laid the foundations for companies like Barbour, Baracuta, BD Baggies and Spiewak to become true timeless icons. Over the years, they became a key player in the importation of functional, authentic overseas fashion of excellent quality and high-tech standards.

With very similar family business roots, the Vans and WP relationship naturally blossomed over the years. When the Vans design team started digging through WP’s extensive archive in Bologna, they found not only a product archive that would make even the most die-hard Vans collector burst with jealousy, but they also found an impressive collection of original documents from the 80s and 90s, including fabric swatches of exclusive WP patterns, incredible advertisements and faxes received from Cristina Calori directly from Steve and Paul Van Doren.

It was these patchwork bandana Vans x WP exclusive fabric swatches that inspired this heritage collection. The Authentic, one of the most iconic silhouettes in the Vans catalogue, was adopted by the ‘Paninari’ – a subculture of 80s Italian hipsters whose style was fueled by Americana culture.

The footwear collection includes three colourways of the Authentic – Red, Navy and Black – in a patchwork bandana print, a fabric made by Vans exclusively for WP in the 80s. A custom shoebox inspired by the original custom WP x Vans boxes completes the nostalgic footwear collection.

For the apparel, the denim-loving, flashy ‘Paninari’ heavily inspired the Vans x WP collection. The stars of the show are the Loose Fit Jean Jacket and Loose Fit 5 Pocket Jean – a 14oz heavyweight premium denim in a premium stonewash with co-branded trims and logo buttons, inspired by details found in the WP archives. A bandana print can also be found on the apparel too, with a digitally printed bandana lining on the jacket and pocket lining on the jeans. The jacket also includes a miniature embroidered Era shoe on the right chest pocket – a further nod to an archival denim jacket found in Bologna.