taka hayashi for vans vault: prison issue lace LX

native american bead work and leather craft work combined with sneaker culture

the californian department of corrections and rehabilitation asked vans to create a shoe for its ever-growing prison population. the outcome, titled ‘prison issue’, became a distant cousin to their original skate shoe, with a few minor tweaks of course (like velcro straps instead of laces).

recently, japanese designer taka hayashi composed a luxurious suede and leather version of the prison issue, dubbed the ‘lace LX’ for VANS vault line. inspired by native american style, the taka hayashi ‘s VANS vault prison issue lace LX is currently available at select VANS vault dealers.

adorned with etched graphics, …

 a turquoise outsole, …

…  and woven ankle strap, the prison issue Lace LX for VANS vault line includes finite details

when asked if he was a fan of sneakers, or fashion in general, hayashi response was:

‘I was born in yokohama, japan and moved to santa monica when I was nine. I’ve been drawing and skating from an early age. I’ve done graphic design and illustration work for stussy in the past and am currently designing footwear and graphics for Vans, including the vans by taka Hayashi, vault, and california lines.

I’ve been a fan of sneakers and fashion since I started skateboarding. when I was thirteen, I used to hang out at a skateboard shop in santa monica called fred segal wheels. it was owned by this really cool skater, named mike teele, from el paso, texas. a lot of pros would roll to this skateshop and I would see eric dressen wearing vans old skools and sk8-hi’s, natas wearing converse dr. j’s and weapons, mark gonzales wearing jordan 1’s, and mike valley wearing adidas ewings and the gold/ red instincts. growing up, I also went back to japan every summer, and seeing their take on american fashion trends was very inspiring. these memories had a great impact on my personal style.

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taka hayashi’s ‘VANS vault santa rosa nomad LX’