In an industry where sneakers often chase hype through collaborations and colorways, the Pearl Vans arrived as something else entirely, a disruption with elegance. What began as an experiment quickly spiraled into a cultural artifact. Pearls, long a symbol of luxury, purity, and eternity, were suddenly reimagined not in jewelry boxes or runways, but on the canvas of everyday footwear.
Italian designer Mattias Gollin who has cultivated a visual narrative through his Instagram describes the spark as a question that wouldn’t let go: “How can I take something timeless, precious, almost sacred and place it into a cultural icon?” That tension the sacred versus the everyday, the eternal versus the street gave birth to one of the most talked-about sneaker drops in recent memory.
For Gollin, pearls aren’t just decoration. They’re personal mythology. “An oyster turns an intruder into something precious,” he explains. “I connect with that. I use emotional factors as fuel, transforming them into creativity. Pearls feel like amulets, symbols of eternity and protection.” By embedding them into sneakers, he wasn’t just redesigning footwear; he was fusing two worlds that rarely meet.
The first drop of the Pearl Vans was less a collection than a ripple in the culture. It wasn’t designed to fit the fashion system’s seasonal rhythms. “I don’t really make collections,” Gollin admits. “My creativity moves with my own flow. When the energy feels right, that’s when I create.” That refusal to play by industry rules became part of the story, fueling both the mystique and the demand.
Still, there’s always a balance between the personal and the cultural. “I start with something deeply personal symbols, memories, vibrations and then I project it outward, imagining how culture will absorb it and remix it,” he says. “If it’s only personal, it risks being self-indulgent. If it’s only cultural, it feels hollow. The magic happens when my story becomes a mirror for someone else’s.”
As the Pearl Vans move into their second chapter, Gollin is clear but reserved. “The story has just begun. No spoilers.” What’s clear is that this isn’t just about sneakers anymore. It’s about rewriting how objects can carry memory, symbolism, and story, one pearl at a time.
At Studio by Pines, stories like the Pearl Vans remind us that culture isn’t just built through trends it’s shaped by symbols that carry weight, history, and emotion. What began as an experiment has become a movement, a reimagining of how personal mythology can slip into the everyday. And like the pearls themselves, this story will only grow more luminous with time.