BEAMS and Vans refresh skate icons with GORE-TEX utility upgrades
BEAMS and Vans turned the Era95 and Skool Era into weather-ready skate shoes, adding GORE-TEX, Vibram and a sharp BLACK / TRUE WHITE finish.
BEAMS and Vans just gave two skate staples a colder, wetter job description: the Era95 came back rebuilt with GORE-TEX fabric and a Vibram sole, while the Skool Era folded the Old Skool’s side stripe into the Era’s cleaner construction. The pair first sold at BEAMS Harajuku at 7:00 p.m. on July 2, then rolled out wider on July 3 through BEAMS stores and the brand’s online shop.
BEAMS framed the project as a special-model reinterpretation of Vans classics, and the styling makes that plain. The Era95 GORE-TEX sits in BLACK / TRUE WHITE and keeps the Era’s familiar skate shape, but the technical material swap changes the whole mood: less boardwalk souvenir, more city commute armor. The Skool Era, also in BLACK / TRUE WHITE, pushes the idea another way, pairing the outside’s Old Skool side stripe with the inside’s stripped-back Era look. One shoe reads tougher, the other cleaner, but both are doing the same job of making legacy Vans feel current without breaking the silhouette.
The price tags tell you where this lands in the market. The Era95 GORE-TEX sold for ¥21,450 including tax, while the Skool Era came in at ¥15,400. Sizes ran from 23.5 cm and 24.0 to 29.5 cm, which keeps the release broad enough for real wear, not just collector shelves. BEAMS also said the drop was part of its 50th-anniversary year, with more than 250 special collaboration and limited items tied to the campaign.
Vans gives the collaboration its backbone. The Era debuted in 1976 as the #95, designed by Tony Alva and Stacy Peralta, while the Old Skool arrived in 1977 as the #36 and became the first Vans skate shoe to carry the brand’s now-famous Sidestripe. That lineage matters because BEAMS did not reinvent anything here. It worked with two of Vans’ most legible silhouettes and gave them a technical reset that fits how people dress now: sneakers that can survive rain, pavement, and a little hype without looking like hiking gear.
BEAMS’ launch-day coverage also pointed out BEAMS branding on the Era95 GORE-TEX insole and side tag, plus name detailing on the Skool Era.
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