We all know that skateboarding is en vogue right now — literally in fact, thanks to Vogue's 'Skateboarding Week' — and you could be forgiven for tiring of all the skateboarding/fashion crossover collections we've seen in the last few years. It's true there's been a lot of collaborations, and while most have hit the right tones, it doesn't feel like some of them have really done either end of the spectrum justice. They've tended to be either just erring too much on the side of fashion, making the skateboarding link feel tenuous and contrived, or too far the other way, making it feel like a fashion brand's novelty foray into streetwear. The happy medium has been a tough thing to find, and while many collaborations have got there — think Supreme x Comme Des Garçons SHIRT and Gosha Rubchinskiy x Vans — some have slightly missed the mark.
Last week, Copenhagen Fashion Week was in full swing, and so was the Copenhagen Open skate competition. That meant Europe's fashion industry descended on the city just as the skateboarding community did. It was the perfect stage for Soulland, Eric Koston and Nike SB to showcase their collaboration — the latest collaboration that manages to hit every note and nuance needed to balance the two aesthetics in one collection.
Soulland was born from a love of skateboarding. Silas Adler, founder of Soulland, has always skated and been an active member of Copenhagen's thriving skate scene; “I’m more interested in skateboarding than I am in fashion. I'm interested in fashion because that’s my job but skateboarding is my number one interest.” This shows, when you look at the collections Soulland have released, in the aesthetic they've made their trademark and the way they've handled themselves since the fashion industry has taken notice of them. They haven't pandered to trends or knocked out hype collaborations, they've stuck to their guns and won praise for their work fair and square.
