THE RETURN OF THE SKATE BRAND

Wind the clock back to 2004. Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 just landed, Etnies is a regular fixture in footwear rotations, and a 19-year-old Paul Rodriguez is making the X Games essential viewing. It was a simpler time defined by massive shoes, equally large shorts, and loud branding. Surprisingly, that doesn’t sound too far from where we are right now. We’ve just experienced the summer of enormous denim shorts, Supreme is no longer reserved for hypebeasts, and Vans is the most popular footwear brand again. 

Add this all up and there’s only one logical answer: we’ve got front-row seats to the second coming of the skate brand. 

The writing has been on the wall, though. After quiet luxury’s long reign over our wardrobes, the pendulum was always going to swing the other direction. Desire has dwindled for the clean silhouettes, draping fabrics, and non-existent branding that warranted eye-watering price tags. Instead, a roster of skate brands designed for the modern day are moving in. Below, we’ve outlined a handful of skate brands you can shop at END. that should be in your wardrobe for the incoming golden era (round 2).

Dime

Founded in 2005, Dime carries the kind of skateboarding attitude that can’t be faked. Its life began as a skating crew making gritty videos which soon translated to a physical store built on community. Providing a hub for Montreal’s skating world as well as stocking the best names in skatewear, Dime became a pivotal part not only of Canadian skate culture but the global scene as a whole. Over 20 years, Dime has refined its offering. Now, street-leaning silhouettes cut from hard-wearing fabrics are skate-ready with an eye on contemporary style too. Subtle but recognisable branding remains a central characteristic, making Dime one of the easiest skate brands to incorporate into your everyday wardrobe.

Polar Skate Co.

Sweden is a hotbed for good style. Whether it’s pure minimalism, the grungy likes of Mfpen or Our Legacy, or, for that matter, the skateboarding influence of Polar Skate Co., there’s seemingly nothing that the Swedes can’t do. Since 2011, Polar Skate Co. has evolved from graphic T-shirts to a full-blown collection covering everything from denim to outerwear, but never forgetting the power of a good graphic tee.

Butter Goods

Like so many of the best skate brands, Butter Goods began life as a DIY T-shirt project. In its almost-20-year lifetime, though, the brand has grown without losing its heart. Graphics are still the anchor of Butter Goods collections, nodding to the ‘90s and ‘00s influences that founders Garth Mariano and Matt Evans came up on.

Vans

Let’s be honest, Vans is the starting point for any conversation about skate style. Since 1966, Vans has been flying the flag for a culture that, at the time it was founded, barely existed. Today, the Vans collection looks remarkably similar to how it did half a century ago. What’s even more impressive is that Vans has leapfrogged so many other footwear brands vying for attention, becoming one of the most-desirable names right now. If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it; If you ever needed proof of that, Vans is it.