Anime has influenced fashion for decades, from custom designs for standard consumer items like sneakers to cosplay items that can function as general everyday wear.Straw hat fans can considerthemselves lucky because Vans partnered up withOne Piece, for the first time, to release a collection titled Vans x One Piece and the release date is steadily approaching.
One Piecehas plenty of merchandise for anime fans to collect, but Vans announced last month that a collaboration was in the works between them and the iconic shonen classic, considered by many to beone of the “big three.” This month, Vans provided additional details, including several pieces that will be included in the “collaborative series” with the full title First Collaborative Let’s Feast to Celebrate the Power of Friendship.
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Vans announced that the fashion collection’s current release date is November 11th, so fans will be able to get their hands on some official Vans xOne Piecemerchandise in less than a month. As to be expected, the items in this collection will be embroidered withOne Pieceimagery from the series, including popular characters,icons, and “wanted posters”.
The collection won’t just include sneakers, so fans will be able to choose between shirts, hoodies, high-top sneakers, low-cut sneakers, hats, bags, socks, and more. The high-top sneaker will be decorated with fiery designs on one side and ice-cold designs on the other, representing the straw hat crew’s adventures during the punk hazard arc.
Vans has already released collaborations with other anime series in the past, but with the huge status thatOne Piecehas in the anime community, it’s safe to say that this may prove to be one of the more successful partnerships. Toei Animationcollaborated with the USC Trojansfootball team for a largeOne Pieceannouncement last month, so it seems thatOne Pieceis becoming increasingly relevant in general American pop culture.
As popular asOne Piecehas become, there’s still a large community of anime fans out there who haven’t caught onto the series. Surely, the Vans xOne Piececollection won’t catch their interest either.
Still, that’s only a small corner of anime fandom and Vans is pretty likely to find success in this recent partnership. While Hot Topic and other similar alt-fashion stores saw the appeal of anime merchandise long ago, this collaboration with Vans is hopefully a sign of more to come with other anime series.
