Over the 8th & 9th April, House of Vans descended upon Milan to transform the Spazio Ex Cristallerie Livellara.

Over 6,000 revellers attended the celebration of creativity that took place over the two days, and included live music performances, skate schools, screen printing, barbering, tattooing, vintage shopping and skate demos.

On Friday a combination of the Europe’s finest bands and DJs performed in front of a wild crowd. First to step on to the stage was Letherette who opened his set with a track from up-and-coming producer Max Graef which set the tone for his show alongside classic material produced by Leon Vynehall and Aden. In amongst the classics Letherette managed to sneakily feature several tracks from his new album, released only a month ago.

As Letherette signed off with ‘I Wanna Be Your Girl’ by Raw Power, the highly anticipated headliners Jungle took to the stage, and they didn’t disappoint, playing an incredible live show featuring several tracks from their now globally premiered album. With the audience singing every lyric to tracks such as ‘Busy Earning’, ‘Time’ and ‘Julia’ it was a set that certainly won’t be forgotten for a while. Following them, crowd favourite Jacques Greene stepped up, delivering a highly-charged performance, including some exciting new material. Setting out with a melodic intro through a remix of ‘Know Yourself’ by Drake, Jacques ramped it up with more house classics through tracks from Denis Sulta. Closing the set, Jacques and Fort Romeau briefly played back-to-back, finishing on a track by Bwana. With the atmosphere fully-charged, it was down to Fort Romeau to close the night on a high, which he successfully accomplished with a combination of classic Chicago house mixed with some fresh tracks.

Saturday saw House of Vans Milan play host to a day packed with activities for all to come together and get involved in. Firstly, a special edition of the Skate School saw Vans‘ italian skate team teaching the kids some of the fundamentals of skateboarding. Inside, the venue had been totally transformed from Friday’s festivities with the introduction of the Back to ’66 edition of Milan’s famous East Market giving all the attendees the opportunity to purchase unique collectables & vintage garments from around the globe. Lovenskate and Lilli Cowley Wood delivered a touch of creative genius with thousands of limited edition 50th anniversary skate decks and t-shirts produced on the day. If that wasn’t enough, attendees were drawn into ‘The Story of Vans’ experience which illustrated the history of ‘the original action sports company’ throughout the 4,600sqm space. Vans Ink Art saw a collaboration with Korpus Domini Tattoo, showcasing some Italy’s finest tattooists, including Andrea Lanzi, El General, Fulvio Vaccarone and Simo SMT, who got busy inking up some of Vans’ most iconic sneakers, fabricated using prosthetic skin, specially for the event. AONO Barber Shop continued their tradition of delivering the finest cuts around, with hoards of attendees queuing to receive a fresh shape up.

Closing the event on Saturday saw 180 Grammi take to the decks, followed by italian legend Crookers, delivering a mesmerising and compelling Dj set that included an array of his House anthems. To honour Vans continued support of skateboarding, riders such as Chris Pfanner, Robin Bolian, Josh Young and Kalle Berglind took centre stage in the skate demos on both Friday & Saturday, throwing down some outrageous tricks in front of a packed crowd. Following the weekend of celebration at House of Milan, The Story of Vans will continue to unfold throughout the year. To keep up-to-date with all upcoming activity, check out vans.eu.
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