85 600
Fashion Jobs
SALLY BEAUTY CORPORATE
IT Director - Finance & HR
Permanent · DENTON
SALLY BEAUTY CORPORATE
Field Director of Loss Prevention & Store Safety
Permanent · DENTON
LEVI'S
Associate Manager, Retail Stores Communications
Permanent · SAN FRANCISCO
NEW BALANCE
Athlete & Product Services Manager
Permanent · BOSTON
NEW BALANCE
sr. Manager, Portfolio Management | Operations
Permanent · LAWRENCE
THE REALREAL
Field Sales Account Manager (Account Luxury Manager)
Permanent · NEW YORK
TREK
Service Manager
Permanent · CENTERVILLE
ESTÉE LAUDER COMPANIES
Keyholder - The Cosmetics Company Store - 12 Hrs - Fashion Outlets Niagara Falls - Niagara Falls, NY
Permanent · NIAGARA FALLS
ESTÉE LAUDER COMPANIES
Keyholder - The Cosmetics Company Store - 20hrs - Tejon - Arvin, CA
Permanent · ARVIN
ESTÉE LAUDER COMPANIES
Keyholder - The Cosmetics Company Store - 20hrs - Tanger Outlet Center Midway - Rehoboth Beach, de
Permanent · REHOBOTH BEACH
AVEDA
Keyholder - Aveda - 25 Hrs - Kenwood - Cincinnati, OH
Permanent · CINCINNATI
MACY'S
Asset Protection Detective, FT Myers - Full Time
Permanent · FORT MYERS
MACY'S
Fulfillment Associate, Portland - Full Time (2550)
Permanent · PORTLAND
MACY'S
Asset Protection Detective, Roosevelt - Full Time
Permanent · PHILADELPHIA
MACY'S
Asset Protection Security Guard, Center City - Flex
Permanent · PHILADELPHIA
MACY'S
Asset Protection Security Guard, Center City - Part Time
Permanent · PHILADELPHIA
MACY'S
Asset Protection Detective, Market Place - Full Time
Permanent · CHAMPAIGN
MACY'S
Asset Protection Detective, Barton Creek Square Mall - Part Time
Permanent · AUSTIN
MOVADO GROUP
District Manager
Permanent ·
STAND OUT FOR GOOD
Brand Rep (Sales Associate)
Permanent · EAST RUTHERFORD
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA
Apex Accelerator Coordinator
Permanent · JACKSONVILLE
JCPENNEY
Asset Protection Associate - Patrick Henry Mall
Permanent · NEWPORT NEWS
By
AFP
Published
Nov 6, 2011
Reading time
2 minutes
Download
Download the article
Print
Text size

Inventor of Vans sneakers dies at 72

By
AFP
Published
Nov 6, 2011

LOS ANGELES - James Van Doren, whose Vans sneakers are coveted by skateboard fanatics worldwide, has died at the age of 72, the California-based company said Friday.

Van Doren -- who co-founded Vans with his brother Paul, long-time friend Gordon Lee and partner Serge Delia in Anaheim, California in 1966 -- died October 12 after a long illness, the firm said on its website.

"Jim Van Doren will always be remembered by Vans as a great innovator and the mechanical mind that joined with brother Paul's retail acumen and Gordy's shoe manufacturing expertise to take Vans from that single store to national prominence and setting the stage for the global brand that Vans is today," the company said.

Van Doren personally created the molds of the original canvas-top Vans in his garage, then grew the company as California skateboarders soon discovered the solid grip of the sneaker's thick rubber soles.

Hollywood star Sean Penn raised Vans' profile when he appeared in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" in a pair of checkerboard slip-ons in 1982.

"He guided Vans through the checkerboard era, and we were flying," his nephew Steve Van Doren told the Los Angeles Times. "We were the hottest thing going."

Van Doren passed the corporate helm to his brother in 1984 when Vans, losing money, went into bankruptcy and reorganized its operations. He became a general contractor, often working for free for the needy, the Times said.

Vans today is owned by the VF Corporation, a North Carolina company whose big stable of brands includes Lee and Wrangler jeans, Nautica sportswear, Kipling bags and North Face outdoor products.

Copyright © 2024 AFP. All rights reserved. All information displayed in this section (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the contents of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presses.