Can Vans Become Cool Again, Heading Off a Perceived Decline in Popularity?

Those who remember the fast times of the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s might fondly remember Vans as a “cool” brand, with their slip-on shoes being nigh-synonymous with punk and skater culture. Fast forward to 2026, and the brand seems to be wearing a bit of tarnish it’s trying to shake, as Retail Dive’s Daphne Howland outlined.

A series of quarterly declines for Vans culminated most recently in a significant 8% fall, year-on-year, during parent company VF Corp.’s first quarter. Vans’ misfortunes were somewhat offset by YoY growth within The North Face and Timberland brands, which improved by 6% and 4% in terms of revenue respectively.

Trouble brewing at Vans didn’t necessarily spell big trouble for VF Corp. as a whole, however, with total Q1 revenue trending upward by 1% and the company raising its guidance for the year as a whole. The report card also saw gross margin blooming by a slim 10 basis points (missing projections) as net loss tightened by more than 16% to $97.2 million.

“We’re not going to pretend that this quarter was great — it wasn’t. But it really sets us up for a year of accelerated growth, which is great. Very modest, I’ll say that, but that accelerated growth story is going to get stronger and stronger over the following year,” VF Corp CEO Bracken Darrel said on an analyst call dissecting the results.

Vans Currently Described as Party to a ‘Downfall,’ and Customers Complain about Declining Quality Standards

In a lengthy YouTube video provided by The Fashion Fable earlier in 2026 titled “The Painful Downfall of Vans,” the former glory of the brand as a fashion icon within certain subcultures — a popularity that would later expand beyond music festivals and skate parks to Main Street — was contrasted with its current period where its intrinsically rebellious “cool” factor had been “watered down.”

“And maybe you felt that shift, too. Vans never fully disappeared from stores, closets, or street style. But when was the last time the brand actually felt ahead of culture?” the narrator of the video asked. On the other hand, the top-rated comments attached to said video argued with the stated premise, arguing that the brand was still both popular and relevant.

However, in a recent conversation on Reddit, nested within a subreddit specifically dedicated to the brand, users bemoaned what they perceived to be a striking decline in quality over the course of the past few years.

The thread, titled “Decline in quality since 2018,” saw the original poster complain about the lack of quality in his latest pair, with replies echoing the sentiment.

“Yup! I checked out about 3 or 4 years ago because the decline was clearly visible…Had nearly 100 pairs prior to that, which I’m still mostly wearing through,” one user wrote.

“Same here. Over 40 years of loyalty to the brand and was done 5 years back. Still here so [sic] see cool designs but few and far between. All this sub is now is these quality issue posts,” a second added.