Vans unveiled the Harris Tweed® collection on 21 September and for a few days now three models have been on our shelves in Lanciano and online: Old Skool 36, Classic Slip-On 98 and Loafer 53, all with uppers in tweed hand-woven in the Outer Hebrides. It is one of the most carefully made releases of the autumn and it deserves an explanation: what this fabric really is, what Vans added to it and how we would wear it.
what harris tweed is
Harris Tweed is not a style of fabric but a name protected by law. The Harris Tweed Act of 1993, passed by the UK parliament, states that only a tweed hand-woven by the islanders at their homes in the Outer Hebrides, made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun in the islands and finished there, can carry the name. Every length of cloth is inspected by the Harris Tweed Authority and stamped with the Orb mark, the globe with a cross registered in 1909: the simplest way to recognise a genuine Harris Tweed.
The story starts earlier, in 1846, when Lady Dunmore, widow of the landowner of the Isle of Harris, had her clan tartan woven by the islanders and began introducing it beyond the islands. Production has stayed the same since: pedal looms in the weavers' homes, fibre-dyed yarns that give the colours that slightly dirty depth typical of tweed, a heavy cloth that stands up to water and wear. It is the same material as English shooting jackets and overcoats, put on a skate shoe.
london punk and californian skate
Vans' point of view is stated plainly: the collection looks at London punk and Southern California skateboarding, two different ways of taking something traditional and ruining it with intent. The tweed stays untouched on the upper, but a lot happens around it: coloured gems and crystals, studs, hoops, peace-sign charms, pins pushed through the fabric. Work that looks done by hand by whoever wears the shoe, not by whoever designed it.
Underneath, the construction is the usual vulcanised one, with the 1966 waffle sole and the higher, glossy foxing, here given a worn treatment that darkens the edges. The midsole is greased, the footbed is leopard print. The collection landed on 24 September 2026 on Vans.com and in selected stores; with us you will find the three shoes. The tweed snapback that completes the range is not in our catalogue.
the three models in store
old skool 36. 36 is the original code of the 1977 style, the one that introduced the Sidestripe. Here the upper is a blue-based tartan with lilac, green and brown passages, the toe, eyelets and heel are navy leather and the black side stripe is scattered with multicoloured crystals. The eyelets are metal, the sole comes with wear marks already on it. The Harris Tweed® certification is sewn on the tongue and on the collar. It is the most recognisable of the three and the one that holds up best under a wide trouser.
classic slip-on 98. Style 98 is the 1977 Slip-On, laceless with elastic side gores. In this version the tweed goes red and burgundy with blue and ochre stripes, cone studs on the toe, scattered gems and a peace charm on the side. The same shoe we wrote about two weeks ago in the Slam Jam capsule, with a completely different character.
loafer 53. The loafer of the line, with the skate construction below and the college shape above. The upper alternates brown, green and light blue checks, the strap on the collar carries a pin and the studs sit on the tongue; the metal charms come off, so the shoe can be worn loaded or clean. Here too the collar is padded and the footbed is leopard print. It is the least predictable piece in the collection, and for that reason our favourite.
see the three vans x harris tweed →
how we would wear them
tweed on tweed, no. The shoe already has its own texture: above it you want a smooth fabric. Old Skool 36 with straight-leg black denim trousers and a Carhartt WIP canvas work jacket. The blues of the tartan show at the hem of the trouser and that is enough.
one bright colour only. The red Slip-On under an all-grey or charcoal look: sweatshirt, wool or fleece trousers, sock on show. The red of the tweed does all the work, everything else stays still.
the loafer the way a London kid would wear it. Ankle-length trousers, white terry sock, nylon jacket. The tweed loafer with the pin is the detail that moves the outfit from ordinary to deliberate, without adding anything else.
where to find them
The three Vans x Harris Tweed are in our Vans collection, in store in Lanciano and online, alongside the rest of our sneakers and footwear and the new arrivals of the fall winter 2026 season. Available sizes are the ones on the shelf, updated in real time; quantities are small and not every model has a full size run. If you are unsure about the fit, write to us: the Slip-On and the Loafer fit a little differently from the Old Skool and we can measure them for you.
