ISSUE #105
This week: Vans climbed to #2 in the Authenticity 500 while its sales kept falling. Can the culture that built it help it grow again?
In this issue:
Why Vans rose in our rankings in a year its sales fell nearly 10%
What SZA’s role shows about co-creation versus endorsement
Why REI is closing on Black Friday for the 12th year, plus four more brands in action
| THE REPORT
Vans: Built by Culture. Still Off the Wall.
Sixty years after skateboarders made Vans their own, the brand is betting that culture can power its next chapter.
Vans has never had to invent an identity in a conference room. For 60 years, that identity has been written on the asphalt by the people wearing its shoes.
Founded in Anaheim in 1966, Vans became a skateboarding icon when Southern California skaters adopted its grippy waffle sole, and young customers made the blank canvas their own, down to hand-drawn checkerboards. It was culture moving from the ground up, not a marketing plan.
Our community still recognizes it. Vans ranks #2 in the 2026 Authenticity 500, up from #3 in our 2025 index. It’s the only brand in this year’s top five to move up.
#2 Overall rank, up from #3 in 2025
60.3 People’s Vote Score (of 100)
45.5% of Vans voters ranked it their most authentic brand
The community’s comments explain why. People credit Vans with staying creative, and with growing without leaving its roots behind.
Creative visionaries with no problem self-reflecting. They lead with true authenticity.
Developed a massive following without moving away from its roots — skate and SoCal lifestyle.
Authentic co-creation is more than sponsorship. Vans has been returning to the people who helped define it.
Its 60th-anniversary Off The Wall campaign put pro skaters Lizzie Armanto and Tristan “T-Funk” Funkhouser alongside musicians including Hayley Williams and Travis Barker, all wearing the original Authentic. SZA, named Vans’ first Artistic Director in 2025, fronted the campaign. Her new VANSZA collection reworks the Authentic Kickdown and Knu Skool Mule around how she actually wears her shoes.
VANSZA (left) and Meet the Vans, Season 2 (right).
That’s what separates co-creation from endorsement. The credibility comes from the scenes, not the spotlight, and Vans’ ties to local skate, music and DIY art communities deserve as much attention as the headline campaigns.
Authenticity doesn’t shield a brand from business challenges. Vans rose in our rankings this year even as its sales kept falling.
In the quarter ended September 26, VF Corporation reported that Vans revenue fell nearly 10% year over year, to $547.6 million. There are signs of progress: global direct-to-consumer sales grew for the first time in almost five years, which VF CEO Bracken Darrell called proof that “our plan to reignite Vans is working.”
Editor’s note: Nike, #4 in our index, faces a similar gap between belief and sales. Read last week’s report.
But a recovery is not the same as a completed turnaround. The challenge is to reconnect Vans’ core skate identity with products and experiences that matter to the next generation.
Vans didn’t become iconic by telling people what to wear. It became iconic because everyday creators took something simple and made it their own.
The job now isn’t to recreate that moment or chase disconnected trends. It’s to keep creating the conditions for it to happen again, giving artists, skaters and local communities a real role in shaping what comes next.
Vans earned its authenticity over decades. Its next chapter depends on protecting that creative freedom while finding its way back to growth.
| THE TAKEAWAYS
What Vans Teaches Us
01 / Co-creation beats endorsement. Giving cultural innovators a real role builds deeper trust than simply borrowing their fame.
02 / Protect the subculture roots. Mainstream success depends on credibility with the grassroots scenes that made the brand matter.
03 / Stay true under pressure. Retail challenges call for a sharper expression of core values, not a scramble after unrelated trends.
| IN ACTION: THIS WEEK’S STANDOUTS
Five new stories since last week’s report, each showing a different way brands make their values tangible.
REI is closing every store on Black Friday for the 12th year in a row, and since 2022 #OptOutside has been permanent company policy rather than an annual decision. Values are easy to put on a slide. They’re harder to keep when they cost you the biggest shopping day of the year.
ALSO WORTH YOUR ATTENTION
Crocs earns Cradle to Cradle Certified Circularity Gold for the Classic Clog, with a public registry listing anyone can look up. A claim you can check beats a sustainability slogan.
SharkNinja launches its first holiday campaign, made in-house, with David Beckham, Kevin Hart and Tom Brady playing fans of products they actually use.
JCPenney puts an Indiana barber, not a celebrity, at the center of its holiday ad. A real person and a specific price make the value proposition easier to believe.
Prada turns to hand-drawn animation for its holiday campaign. The visible craft becomes part of the story at a time when synthetic imagery is everywhere.
| FREE RESOURCES
Go deeper with the research and practical tools behind this newsletter.
Authenticity 500 Top 5 Brand Recap
Rankings, community insights and brand lessons from Patagonia, Vans, Ben & Jerry’s, Nike and Apple.
The Authentic Brand Audit Kit
Worksheets to evaluate whether a brand lives up to what it promises.
The Personal Authenticity Deep-Dive Journal
A guided resource for reflecting on your values and choices.
| FROM THE ARCHIVE
Thanks for reading Authenticity Report.
Stories, research, and perspectives on the brands and people shaping authenticity.
What should Vans protect as it works to grow again? Reply to this email or write to [email protected]. I read the replies, and we may feature yours next week.
Disclosure: Some content in this newsletter may be generated with the assistance of AI tools for research and drafting. It is reviewed, edited, and fact-checked by our editorial team before publication.
