11.07.2011

Man Who Created Vans Shoes Has Died

[Gawker] Vans, makers of the ubiquitous skater-culture sneaker, has lost its founding father. James Van Doren (pictured, right) died on Oct. 12th at age 72 at his home in Fullerton, Ca. The cause was cancer. The company began as the Van Doren Rubber Company, maker of rubber-soled canvas leisure shoes for the casually stylish California man. The classic Vans slip-on, made iconic by Sean Penn in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, was initially devised as a boat shoe with an extra-strong grip to keep the wearer firmly upright on a pitching deck.

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