SNS Presents Vans x Vivienne Westwood with Moa Romanova

British fashion house and designer Vivienne Westwood has become one with the term “Punk,” creating quintessential pieces for her cult-following. Born in Derbyshire in 1941, Vivienne Westwood changed the game for many years, still, to this date, her brand is one that people look up to, that’s why it is with no surprise that Vans joined forces with the Punk icon. Fusing both identities perfectly, the Vans x Vivienne Westwood Anglomania collection combines DNA and style cleverly. The exclusive collection, which includes the Authentic, Sk8-High Platform, Style 53 and Sk8-Hi, reinterprets well-known Westwood archive prints, graphics, and designs, coating the different silhouettes in colorful prints and premium materials, championing individualism and liberation. To honor both stories, and the timeless designs created by both brands, the Sk8-Hi features debossed markings of a handwritten letter sent from Southern California to Vivienne Westwood’s flagship boutique at 44 Conduit St. in London. Built with New Wave and Punk rooted in the collaboration, the partnership executes the rich history with tactfulness, fusing heritage and current status quo in one picture.

Fronting the SNS exclusive editorial, we joined forces with Stockholm-based artist Moa Romanova, who embodies the spirit of the two brands perfectly. Working out of her studio south of Södermalm, Moa has just released her highly anticipated debut book “Alltid fucka upp,” a comic-like pictorial autobiography, which underlines even more why we wanted to work with the multi-talented boss lady.

Photography by SNS's own Yulia Lindberg

SNS: Hej Moa, going through your work we found very original aesthetics and started wondering about possible places where all that came from. Seems safe to say that punk is something close to your heart?

Moa: I think punk is an influence when in comes to my attitude when creating something. To me that is not really caring what other people think. Striving for a carelessness anchored not in a desire to be cool and nochalant but in a confidence that following my gut feeling and freaky ideas will turn out funnier and better than not doing so. According to myself at least.

You made a name for your self through the blog Monkinodraw, which felt like a reflection of all your influences, and one could follow you on a more daily basis. Now, after quitting the blog-game, you published a super refreshing book. Do you have any influences on a daily basis, or on a bigger scale?

My friends. Stale fucking answer but yeah. They inspire me to work harder and be funnier. In my work I’m knee deep in 80’s/early 90’s influences, probably for nostalgic reasons but also since lots of art from those decades are considered stupid ugly. I love the 1980’s take on Art Deco in architecture. Indoor water parks from the 80s are a great example of this as well as 80’s and 90’s malls. It’s very geometrical and simplistic and ugly in a beautiful way.

On top of your comic book “Alltid Fucka Upp” (Swedish for “Always Fuck Up”), you also do big oil paintings, how do you approach all these different projects, is it always the same way?

No, it’s really different. Oil painting takes planning and structure and most of all; time. When I work with comics its more fluid and spur of the moment-like. I prefer the latter.

*Besides your work, what influences your own style? Vivienne Westwood is an icon impossible to ignore when it comes to fashion. Would you say you somehow have her fingerprints on your style? *

I don’t know if its possible to wear a punk inspired outfit and not being influenced by VW even if your not aware of it. I’m super sleepy and lazy as a person which is reflected in my style; my clothes could often double as pajama. Loose fit, comfy materials and over sized items are my favorites. It’s really hard to pin point my influences as I really don’t think about it too much. I’d like to think I’m inspired by my own cartoon characters; x-files sized trench coats, washed out black and pink and 80’s silhouettes. And those characters are in turn inspired by what I like and consume. Tv-shows, books, art. Some sort of humor to it is important I think. My dream outfit is a barrel with one suspender.