Vlado Footwear is a premium footwear brand dedicated to creativity, originality, and self-expression. Since our founding in 2001, we’ve established ourselves as a leader in fashion-forward streetwear shoes that combine bold designs with exceptional comfort.
Headquartered in New York City, the heart of culture and fashion, Vlado Footwear embodies the vibrant energy and creative spirit of the city. Our mission is to push boundaries and challenge conventions through our one-of-a-kind shoes that are made to stand out, not blend in.
Our Origins
Vlado Footwear was founded by designer Slava Vlado, who brought his artistic vision to life in the form of unique sneakers. As a child growing up in the former Soviet Union, Slava was surrounded by a culture of uniformity and conformity. He dreamt of one day having the freedom to express his individuality through fashion.
After immigrating to New York City as a young adult, Slava was finally able to pursue his passion. He attended the Fashion Institute of Technology and honed his craft of shoe design. Drawing inspiration from the graffiti art, street style, and underground music scenes of NYC in the 90s, Slava began creating provocative shoes that challenge expectations.
In 2001, Slava officially launched the Vlado Footwear brand. Operating out of his small NYC apartment, he sold his first series of hand-painted sneakers locally. The bold designs featuring graffiti motifs and hardcore punk graphics quickly attracted a cult following among NYC creatives.
As word spread, Vlado shoes earned global recognition for their rebellious spirit and eye-catching aesthetic. Today, Vlado Footwear is sold in over 40 countries around the world and continues to push creative boundaries with every new design.
Our Design Ethos
Vlado Footwear shoes are defined by their provocative fusion of art, music, and street culture. Our design ethos is centered around rejecting uniformity, questioning social norms, and empowering personal expression.
Every Vlado style incorporates at least one of these key elements:
- Artistic Details: Our shoes feature hand-painted illustrations, bold prints, graffiti motifs, and more. We collaborate with underground artists to incorporate their unique designs.
- Music Influences: Music movements like punk, rock, and hip hop inspire our attitude and style. Many shoes pay homage to iconic albums through graphics.
- Urban Edge: The urban landscape of concrete, grit, and streetwear informs our aesthetics. Our shoes blend sporty silhouettes with rebellious details.
- Distinct Materials: Premium leathers and suedes are combined with unexpected fabrics like hemp, brushed wool, and metallic textiles for shoes that command attention.
Vlado Footwear also maintains key design principles across all styles:
- Playful irreverence and tongue-in-cheek humor
- Bold, high-contrast color blocking
- Intentionally distressed and “destroyed” detailing
- Thick, chunky midsoles for modern streetwear appeal
The result is edgy, daring shoes that reject bland minimalism in favor of maximalist expression. When you wear Vlados, you make a statement.
Our Manufacturing Process
We proudly produce Vlado Footwear at our own manufacturing facilities in Naples, Italy. Working closely with local artisans, we blend generations of Italian shoemaking heritage with modern streetwear technology.
Our manufacturing process includes:
- Sourcing premium materials like Italian leathers, suede, and canvas locally. We use existing materials in innovative ways.
- Cutting patterns and components by hand to create our unique silhouettes. Our designs can’t be replicated by machinery alone.
- Sewing and assembling uppers and outsoles. Skilled craftsmen construct the shoes using a combination of hand techniques and advanced machinery.
- Designing custom molds for our signature chunky midsoles. We createThickness that can’t be found anywhere else.
- Hand-painting and distressing many components before assembly to give each pair a one-of-a-kind look and feel.
- Rigorous quality control throughout the process, including inspections of every pair before shipping.
By fusing technology with traditional artistry, our Italian-made manufacturing allows us to maintain strict quality standards while creating truly unique shoes.
Our Core Values
Vlado Footwear operates on a set of core values that inform every aspect of our brand:
Creative Expression
We believe that empowering creativity sparks positive change in the world. Our shoes give people the freedom to express their individuality and challenge societal boundaries through style.
Fearless Originality
We don’t follow trends – we set them. Our designs push boundaries, break rules, and aren’t afraid to shock and provoke thought through radical originality.
Artistic Craftsmanship
Our manufacturing process balances cutting-edge technology with generations of traditional Italian shoemaking skills. This blend allows us to turn our artistic visions into wearable works of art.
Effortless Cool
Vlado shoes exude laidback cool and confidence stemming from their rebellious attitude and nonconformist aesthetics. We design for thinkers, artists, and dreamers who aren’t afraid to stand out.
Accessible Luxury
We use premium materials and a meticulous design process, but reject outrageous markups. Vlado Footwear fuses luxury with street sensibilities to create high-end art shoes made accessible.
Ethical Production
From sourcing to manufacturing, we follow fair labor practices and environmental stewardship. We proudly produce in Italy to support local communities and reduce our environmental impact through localized production.
The Vlado Community
The diverse community of passionate Vlado enthusiasts is what truly makes this brand special. United by shared values of creativity, freedom, and fearless originality, Vlado Footwear fans are collaborators that help shape the brand’s future.
Vlado shoes are designed to give this community a voice to challenge conformity through self-expression. Our shoes aren’t just unique fashion pieces – they’re symbols of empowerment.
We actively connect with our loyal community in the following ways:
- Spotlighting user-generated content like photos and reviews on our website and social media
- Sharing behind-the-scenes content that provides an insider’s view into our brand
- Collaborating with artists and designers from the Vlado community on new shoe graphics and projects
- Gathering constant user feedback and using it to directly inform our design and manufacturing process
- Engaging community members across social platforms and building meaningful two-way conversations
At the core, Vlado stands with creative pioneers instead of simply creating for them. The raw, unfiltered style of our brand comes directly from the diverse community we serve.
We can’t wait to see what bold, groundbreaking designs and collabs our community helps inspire next.
Artist & Musician Collaborations
From the beginning, music and underground art movements played a central role in influencing the style of Vlado Footwear. Today, we pay homage to our roots through ongoing collaborations with emerging artists and musicians.
These creative partnerships include:
Limited Edition Sneaker Drops
We work directly with urban contemporary artists, graphic designers, and illustrators to release collectible, limited-run shoes featuring their visual art. Past partners include tattoo artist Mo Ganji, photographer Mattia Faloretti, and LA artist Greg Mike.
Album Merch & Promotions
By teaming up with punk, rock, and hip-hop artists, we incorporate music into the Vlado experience. Past initiatives include merchandise for Swedish rapper Yung Lean’s albums and promotional shoes for A$AP Rocky album releases.
Shared Design Studios
We open up our Naples design studios for collaborating artists to visit and hand-paint custom shoes. During these visits, we merge the Vlado creative process with each artist’s unique style for spontaneous partnerships you can’t find anywhere else.
DIY Customization Bars
At select sneaker events, we provide on-site customization materials for artists and designers to hand-paint and modify blank Vlado sneakers. This hands-on experience allows for true artistic synergy.
For 20 years and beyond, these types of grassroots, street-level creative partnerships will continue to inject the raw, unfiltered expression of youth culture into the core Vlado Footwear DNA.
Giving Back
While Vlado Footwear shoes embrace provocative, rebellious style, our brand also cares deeply about positively impacting communities. We partner with and donate to select causes that embody the creative spirit and fearless originality we admire.
Organizations we proudly support include:
- City Parks Foundation: Through programs and concerts, this NYC nonprofit provides underserved youth with opportunities to explore and engage with the arts.
- Save the New York Dolls: This initiative works to preserve, renovate, and revitalize hand-painted public murals around NYC’s five boroughs that reflect the city’s vibrant graffiti art culture.
- Fashion Makes Change: This organization gives underprivileged youth hands-on training, mentoring, and career opportunities within fashion to inspire creativity and community stewardship.
- MusiCares: Run by the GRAMMYs organization, this foundation works year-round to support musicians in times of financial and personal crisis.
We also partner with local community centers in NYC and LA to regularly donate shoes and other necessities to disadvantaged youth and provide spaces for them to freely create art.
Philanthropy has always been woven into the fabric of Vlado. We strive to empower creativity in communities, just as our shoes empower individual expression.
What’s Next?
Vlado Footwear continues to blaze new trails 20 years since our founding. As we move into the future, here’s what you can expect:
Pushing Design Boundaries
With collections like Offbeat, Misfit, and Rebel, we will keep challenging conformity through experimental art shoes that push creativity to the edge. Expect bold new textures, radical motifs, and high-impact graphics.
Honoring Our Roots
Even as we innovate, Vlado will stay grounded in our origins through raw, provocative designs inspired by NYC’s punk, rock, and hip hop subcultures. Our roots give us an authentic voice.
Dropping Collabs
We’ll keep teaming up with pioneering artists, musicians, and designers to deliver fresh limited-edition collections and DIY customization experiences fueled by creative synergy.
Exploring New Tech
Advances like 3D printing open exciting doors for manufacturing even more detailed artistic designs. We’ll innovate through tech while preserving our handmade quality.
Expanding Our Community
By spotlighting inspiring user content and listening to feedback across social media, we’ll keep growing an inclusive, close-knit community united by the desire for bold self-expression.
After two decades, Vlado Footwear still operates as a fearless upstart brand pushing creative boundaries. Our mission to empower individuality and originality through shoes will never change, though. Vlado was made for thinkers, dreamers, and pioneers – we can’t wait to see what the future holds.