Vans' luxury capabilities truly know no bounds. It was one thing when it was Chanel-inspired skate shoes that let the allure of these grailed items do most of the heavy lifting.

But now, Vans is turning its simplest colorways into an elevated gem that can stand on its own — no references needed.

On a topical level, Vans' "Antwerp Fade" Authentic sneaker is just another all-black skate shoe, something that you’d think would be a dime a dozen for the skate maison. This shoe isn’t luxury on accident either. Named after Antwerp, the north Belgium stomping grounds of fashion legends like Raf Simons, Martin Margiela, and the Antwerp Six.

Though not as obvious in its referential fashion status as some of its counterparts, the Antwerp Fade Authentic sneaker still knows ball.

But this Authentic sneaker is far from a regular-degular black skate shoe. This is a GOAT in the making.

The upper is made of a luxe pebbled leather that gives the sneaker the same elegant status attributed to leather handbags. You can tell these stunners are luxe without even touching them. The textured leather upper hits a wall at the toe, where a suede composition takes over and really underlines the material delectability oozing from this sneaker.

All of this is rounded out with a chocolate brown outsole that pushes back against the dated style notion that suggests black and brown should never mix. Whoever said that must have never seen the "Antwerp Fade" sneaker, available on the Vans website for $80, really get down. 

If anything, the chromatic juxtaposition just further adds to the Authentic's existing intrigue. 

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