Havaianas Relaunches Its VW Kombi Volkswagen Van as New Pop-Up

Havaianas relaunched its VW Kombi with a Los Angeles-based event in collaboration with Modern Beast on Aug. 26. The Brazilian footwear brand will continue to use the VW Kombi for its retail and marketing activations.

“We’ve seen success through our social media channels ensuring our content is content and engaging, our customer experience online and in-store and we are planning for some really fun, cool, colorful concepts using the kombi van to reach consumers,” said Jacob Uhland, Havaianas President of the Alparagatas North America and Caribbean.

Havaianas history can be traced back to 1964 when traveling salesmen would sell pairs of Havaianas shoes from their Volkswagen vans in countryside cities throughout Brazil. Almost 60 years later, Havaianas is re-creating that experience with a Brazilian-made 1971 VW van transformed into a pop-up shop.

The VW Kombi is the first one Havaiana has bought in the U.S., but the brand is looking to source two more and plans to use the current Kombi to travel around Southern California for Havaianas retail events.

Recently, Havaianas put a fresh spin on its classic flip-flops to create a Japanese-inspired design made with soles of rice straw. The TradiZori is a thong style with a square-shaped silhouette that comes in seven color ways.

More from Footwear News

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• Havaianas Debuts Its First-Ever Pride Collection Filled With Rainbow Flip Flops

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