Vans celebrates 10 years of 'Custom Culture' design competition

Vans is celebrating the tenth anniversary of its ‘Vans Custom Culture' high school design competition.

The fashion brand has launched the tenth consecutive edition of its annual initiative, which offers public and private high school art students the chance to to showcase their creative abilities while competing for a grand prize of $75,000, or four runner-up prizes of $10,000. It aims to encourage creativity among high school students across the US, and focuses on empowering students and positively impacting their local communities.

"Vans Custom Culture is a shining example of how we bring our brand's purpose of enabling creative expression to life," said Kristy Van Doren, senior director of brand marketing in North America, in a statement. "The competition has inspired more than 12,000 high schools, and Vans has donated more than a million dollars to support art education to fuel creativity across the country."

Vans is now accepting applications from high school art teachers and administrators for the competition, through January 31. A total of 500 schools will be shortlisted and asked to come up with designs for two blank pairs of shoes illustrating the concepts "Local Flavor" and "Off The Wall." A public vote in April will determine the top five finalists, before the final winning team is selected and awarded a $75,000 arts grant.

Vans is not the only clothing brand currently on the hunt for creative ideas from young design talent -- luxury conglomerate LVMH recently launched the 2019 version of its ‘Prize for Young Fashion Designers,' while last month saw Kering launch its ‘Sustainable Innovation Award' to single out innovative startups and technologies in Greater China that are offering a positive environmental and social impact.