Vans and WP Lavori pay homage to Milan’s ‘Paninari’ subculture

WP Lavori in Corso, the iconic Italian retailer, digs into its archives with Vans for an exclusive collaboration.

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Founded in Bologna in 1982, Lavori in Corso is the brainchild of Giuseppe Calori and his daughter Cristina. Renowned for distributing some of Italy’s most prominent brands – Vans was one of the first – it laid the foundations for companies such as Barbour, Baracuta, BD Baggies and Spiewak, among others, making them timeless icons. Over the years, the company became a key player in the import of functional and authentic foreign fashion, of excellent quality and high technological level.

With very similar family roots, the relationship between Vans and WP blossomed naturally over the years. When the Californian brand’s design team started digging through WP‘s extensive archive in Bologna they not only found authentic collector’s items but also came across original documents from the 80s and 90s including fabric samples of exclusive WP patterns, incredible advertisements and faxes received from Cristina Calori directly from Steve and Paul Van Doren.

These same patchwork bandana fabric samples have been the main inspiration for the new collection. The Authentic, one of Vans’ most iconic silhouettes, was adopted by the ‘Paninari’, a subculture of Italian hipsters in the 1980s whose style drew from American culture.

Footwear options include three colour combinations: red, navy and black in patchwork bandana print, a fabric made by Vans exclusively for WP in the 1980s. On the textile side, there’s a matching baggy denim jacket with five-pocket button detail denim and four unique graphic T-shirts.

The Vans x WP Lavori in Corso collection will go on sale on 9 June via vans.eu and wpstore.it as well as selected retailers.