vans manifests invisible architecture of sound at milan design week 2025

vans debuts at milan design week 2025

During Milan Design Week 2025, Vans transforms the Triennale Milano into an immersive portal that manifests

invisible elements into the physical. The streetwear brand’s installation, CHECKERED FUTURE: FREQUENCY MANIFEST, designed by Willo Perron with sonic textures by experimental musician Tim Hecker, is a living frequency rather than a typical product display. The radically reimagined Old Skool 36 FM is on show, but the experience travels beyond, exploring the architecture of sound as a spatial and sculptural force. It reflects how Vans continues to bridge music, design, and culture — not just as a footwear icon, but as a platform for innovation.

As the most aspirational arm of the Vans brand, OTW by Vans (short for Off The Wall) celebrates the disruptive spirit of skateboarding while pushing product design and cultural storytelling into new territories. Since its debut at Paris Fashion Week Men’s in 2023, OTW has established itself as a curator of boundary-breaking collaborations and experiences, from skate interventions under Sacré Coeur to art partnerships at Frieze LA. This 2025 Milan installation marks a pivotal moment in OTW’s evolution, launching its new Future Make series with the Old Skool 36 FM at its core.

vans presents checkered future: frequency manifest

In the spirit of OTW by Vans, CHECKERED FUTURE: FREQUENCY MANIFEST dives into the unseen, inviting Milan Design Week visitors into the unexplored. The installation welcomes people into a dark room, seemingly dressed head-to-toe in metal frames, mirrors, and machinery. Once visitors are sat leaning against the central bank, a performance of music, design, and culture takes place.

Perron and Hecker materialize sound — its frequencies, waves, and vibrations — into form and space. Light and reflection physically pulse in harmony with invisible currents, creating a kinetic environment where time feels suspended. The experience leaves a lasting impression on visitors, one that is not only heard but seen and left.

vans old skool 36 fm

As the first release in OTW’s Future Make series, the Old Skool 36 FM draws directly from the experience’s themes. The shoe, originally introduced in 1977 as the Style 36, has a reinvented silhouette that is also on show as visitors first walk into the installation.

Its design language reflects the technical beauty of acoustics: a componentized cupsole mimics modular waveforms, while a lofted engineered-knit upper evokes the texture of sound. The side stripe, rendered in bold 3D-injected TPU, acts like a frequency wave that is dynamic, sculptural, and unapologetically forward. Underfoot, Vans’ Sola Foam ADC and EVA Strobel board fuse comfort with futuristic intent. Offered in Marshmallow and Black, the Old Skool 36 FM is the frequency Vans wants the world to tune into – available from April 11 here.

project info:

brand: Vans
event: CHECKERED FUTURE: FREQUENCY MANIFEST

installation designer: Willo Perron

sound artist: Tim Hecker

production: Villa Eugénie

product: Old Skool 36 FM
location: Triennale Milano, Viale Emilio Alemagna, 6, 20121 Milano MI, Italy
dates: April 8–13, 2025
opening hours: 10:00 AM – 9:30 PM