Vans Hangzhou In77 Store

About The Entry

Vans Hangzhou in77 store integrates the city’s local landscape art and cultural motifs into a street-inspired retail environment.

The linear textures and stone countertop surfaces capture the coexistence of mountain silhouettes and the tidal rhythm of the Qiantang River. The red-and-black patterned floor abstractly traces the motion of a skateboard in action, creating a dialogue with the Chinese calligraphy-inspired artworks on the surrounding walls. Together, they reference Hangzhou’s cultural lineage while using movement and trajectory to express the interplay between heritage, innovation, and timelessness.

On the walls, Omar Kanawati’s metal-etched artwork interprets Su Shi’s verse, “A breath of vast integrity sends forth winds across a thousand miles.” The piece evokes the primal, rugged texture of bronze vessels and mirrors the friction between metal and concrete found in skate culture—an embodiment of Vans’“Off the Wall” spirit. Through the weight of Hangzhou’s history, the work channels the courage to push forward and break free.

Artist Wang Kang combines motifs from Tang–Song official seals and the “Zhongshan King” seal script with iconic Hangzhou landmarks such as the “Five Views of West Lake” and “Lingyin Temple”. These ancient fonts and symbolic landscapes are carved onto the back of skateboards, grounding street culture in Hangzhou with a delicate touch.

Within the square-shaped space, mirrored and metallic walls create a layered, reflective environment that allows visitors to look back, look inward, to find clarity. The interplay of solidity and transparency encourages reflection on tradition—how it is understood, broken apart, reassembled, and ultimately transformed to break boundaries.