Timeless Design: The Vans Authentic

Words by Global Brand Archivist and Historian Catherine Acosta.

Vans got its start back in 1966 in Anaheim, California, when brothers Paul and James Van Doren teamed up with Gordon Lee and Serge D’elia to open The Van Doren Rubber Company at 704 E. Broadway. In those early days, they were making 16 different shoe styles themselves—literally manufacturing them one day and selling them the next. One of those styles was the Style 44, a simple “deck shoe” that would eventually be renamed the Authentic. With its sturdy canvas upper and sticky rubber waffle-patterned sole, it didn’t take long before Southern California skateboarders discovered it in the early ’70s and claimed it as their own. 

The Authentic actually started out as one of Vans’ original boat shoes, offered in just a handful of colors: navy, light blue, white, and loden green. By the early ’70s, the lineup had grown to include navy, white, blue, olive, brown, and red. Vans marketed it as a shoe “for the entire family.” Around this same time, the signature waffle sole was born. The first Vans outsoles used a simple diamond tread, but Paul Van Doren noticed they were cracking at the ball of the foot. The fix—adding extra lines to the waffle pattern—went on to become one of the most recognizable features of Vans footwear. 

Everything changed in the early ’70s when California skateboarders fully embraced the Authentic. Navy Authentics showed up on the feet of the legendary Z-Boys at the 1975 Del Mar Nationals, cementing their place in skate culture. The shoe’s durability and board feel inspired Vans to create its first official skate shoe, Style 95 (known today as the Era). From there, the Authentic became intertwined with youth culture, counterculture, and action sports. 

By the early ’80s, the Authentic was everywhere—on punks, skaters, surfers, rebels, and anyone looking to make a statement. In the ’90s, it evolved again, this time becoming a fashion staple that showed up in endless colors, prints, and materials. And in 1993, Vans officially renamed Style 44 as the Authentic, solidifying its status as a global icon. 

Today, the Authentic remains one of Vans’ most beloved silhouettes—a simple canvas shoe with decades of stories stitched into every pair.

Catherine Acosta is an archivist, educator, and historian based in Los Angeles, California. She is the Global Brand Archivist and Historian for Vans, the iconic Southern California footwear and action sports brand, where she preserves and interprets the company’s cultural and design legacy.