Act of Disagreement is the ongoing collaboration between Slam Jam and Vans, built to translate the style and attitude of the Bedroom Generation into an apparel range.
Slam Jam, as a global fashion platform, has always been interested in the concept of uniforms. Partnering with Vans allows that interest to draw from an established cultural repertoire of youthful dissonance.
The first drop took place in October of last year, and through the winter fog a striking visual code emerged. Spiral-checkered fleeces, hoodies with crossed-body zips, skater-fit trousers with meticulously placed rips at the hems. Winter Van Der Brink’s campaign captured the new generation at a distance then; this time, the lens moved closer.
The campaign was shot by Saulė Bliuvaitė, a Lithuanian director who most recently received a Golden Leopard for Best Film at Locarno Film Festival with her feature film Toxic. Her work is rooted in adolescence, identity, friendship and life at the margins of contemporary society. In Act of Disagreement her camera follows echoes of laughter and ruthless teasing behind closed doors, then drifts into intimate outdoor spaces that feel just like home. What comes through are pockets of calm within everyday chaos, portrayed with a unique tenderness that only heightens the sense of turmoil beneath the surface.
Barbed-wire prints on cozy-looking hoodies and loose-fit denim follow the same intuition. The collection also takes on Vans’ iconic checkerboard motif, carrying it across everything from long sleeves to the Slip-On, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2027. Whether rendered in black and white or red and white, the Checkerboard Print comes to embody the bittersweet communion of opposites that runs throughout the project.
Act of Disagreement will be available from September 10 at all Slam Jam doors worldwide and selected European retailers, with Vans carrying the collection exclusively online in Europe.
