Vans Celebrates 60 Years of the Authentic With SZA and More

Vans is doubling down on star power for spring 2026 with a campaign starring SZA, Travis Barker, Hayley Williams and Franz Lyons and skaters Lizzie Armanto and T-Funk — all to celebrate one of the brand’s most iconic shoes.

The “Off the Wall” global campaign celebrates 60 years of the Authentic sneaker and its influence across fashion, skate and surf culture.

The long-standing skate brand is paying homage to individuality with the “Off the Wall” campaign. Vans writes in an official release, “Off the Wall reflects how Vans moves through culture: how it creates, how it connects, and how it evolves. Each individual featured embodies that mindset, completely unique, yet hardwired to create their own noise. Builders and breakers. Originals and outsiders. People who don’t wait for permission to belong because they’re already creating culture now.”

The Authentic came around in 1966, hitting the scene as an understated deck shoe; but it wasn’t wasn’t long before it was embraced by skateboarders. Coming from California surf culture, the Authentic became a fixture on the pavement and an outlet for self-expression. Over the course of six decades, the low-profile canvas sneaker has gone global and continues to be associated with originality.

Shot by Rosie Marks, the wide-ranging talent in the spring 2026 campaign model various colorful versions of the Authentic — among them, for example, Williams wears a checkered red and white iteration and Barker wears a color-blocked red and blue option. The Vans Off the Wall Authentic pack releases Thursday at Vans retail locations and Vans.com, with more colorways coming on April 2.

SZA was tapped to serve as Vans’ first artistic director last year, launching a multiyear partnership which has thus far encompassed a fall 2025 campaign and custom gemstone-embellished Authentic sneakers designed by Rachel Goatley. Meanwhile, Barker has worked with Vans too, and even drove a checkered Vans car shoe at this Run Travis Run event in November 2025 after his first collaboration came out that month.