Vans’ first skateboard-specific shoe model was the Era, originally known as Style 95. It was introduced in 1976 after skateboarders Tony Alva and Stacy Peralta helped shape a shoe suited to the demands of skating.
The Era adapted Vans’ simple deck-shoe construction with a padded collar and contrasting color options. Those changes offered skateboarders more ankle comfort and made the shoe feel purpose-built for skateboarding rather than merely borrowed from casual footwear. The model became especially associated with Southern California’s influential Z-Boys and the growing skate scene.
The Authentic, Slip-On, and later Old Skool are often named incorrectly because all became closely linked with skate culture. The Authentic was Vans’ original deck shoe, while the Old Skool arrived in 1977 as the second dedicated skate model and added the side stripe. “Style 95” and “Era” therefore refer to the same pioneering Vans skate shoe, with Era becoming the lasting model name.