Vans Syndicate x Feal Mor’s JP “A La Vie” Chukka Low

THE CAMOUFLAGE

This is the world’s rarest camouflage. It comes from a French Marine Commando smock out of Indochina. There are pictures of it in Dr. J.F. Borsarello’s book “Camouflage Uniforms of Asian and Middle East Armies” and these dudes look just amazing. The “Commandos de Marine” were formed during World War II and (fundamentally) based on the British commandos. During the French Indochina War (1946–1954) the French used commando units extensively and the unit this jacket was assigned to are designated “marine” – a French word for “naval” – meaning they had amphibious capabilities and then later on underwater capabilities – very close to an UDT level (Underwater Demolition Team – a precursor to the U.S. Navy SEALs). They were a legendary corps and wore the green beret “British” style with badge to the left (opposite of the French way to the right).

In this seminal period of camouflage development it got really modern by becoming ancient. The influences came from as far back as the colonial wars and the American Revolution where the Americans were dressing like Woodsman, Trappers, and Hunters to blend in for forest/jungle warfare against the British “Redcoats”. By WWII, the switch had been completely made and the first actual camo patterns emerged. This pattern in particular is very primitive and painterly. The colors on the inside pockets of this smock which we worked off of for the first round sample version of the shoe are a really deep chocolate brown against an almost Christmas tree “turn of the century” evergreen with a touch of blue and a cream colored background. So, it was kind of funky. I certainly think the aged version we eventually went with is incredible. We can take the shoe and jacket and put them neck and neck to see that our iteration is really close to the original. The Syndicate team really threw down and made it happen.

THE MESSAGE

The inscriptions on the shoes are combined from elements of the various commando units. The motto “A La Vie, A La Mort” – “To Life, To Death” came from the Ponchardier unit. The “Tigres Noirs” (Black Tigers , Commando 24) wore black head to toe and their leader’s name was Vanden (similar Vans Shoes). He basically started what we now know as SF mixed indigenous forces (locals with advisors) of which the direct descendents were units such as the Sog units in the US-Indochina conflict. One of his reputed tactics was to get captured only to infiltrate and do damage from the inside. The Black Tigers mission at Nim-Binh to recover the body of a general’s son is surely as good an example of the complexity and tragedy of war. Haiphong was the site of the beginning of the war when its harbor was bombed by the French navy. For a little R&R (rest and recreation) our paras and marine commandos might have gone to Vat-Chay so the motto then was “A La Vie” – “To Life”.