Vans is proud to partner with skateboarder and artist Lee Smith for a VCU project that connects generations of skate culture through creativity, community, and authentic lived experience. Lee came up skating the streets of San Francisco, becoming part of the legendary EMB crew at Embarcadero and later riding for influential teams including Menace and 60/40. That history gives Lee a unique place in skateboarding as someone who witnessed a defining era and as someone who helped shape it.
The collection features two Vans Icons chosen to connect Lee’s story with key moments for each silhouette: the Skate Era, celebrating the return of the Era through original artwork inspired by his San Francisco roots in the Mission District, and the Skate Slip-On, building energy around the Slip-On while featuring artwork tied to his current life in Bed-Stuy, New York.