VILLAGE PM PIQUES BUYERS’ INTEREST WITH ITS SKATE-INSPIRED SHOWROOM TRUCK

29 Jan VILLAGE PM PIQUES BUYERS’ INTEREST WITH ITS SKATE-INSPIRED SHOWROOM TRUCK

While the Marais district teems with showrooms and events for creative labels, as well as sports brands presenting their autumn/winter 2025 collections, young French sneakers label Village PM has opted for a showroom like no other. The brand, which approaches the world of skateboarding through innovative silhouettes, welcomes professionals at the back of a converted lorry parked on the corner of rue de Poitou and rue Vieille-du-Temple. On the sides of the vehicle, the brand’s flagship model and logo are prominently displayed, alongside the slogan “skateboarding deserves progressive footwear.” With its skate team gathered around the lorry, the initiative inevitably turns heads.

“We’ve been doing this for three seasons now,” explains Basile Lapray, who launched the brand with Bram de Cleen in 2024. “Faced with budget constraints, we were looking for a format that would be visible amid the hundreds of lookalike showrooms or trade fair stands. We said to ourselves, ‘Let’s take a lorry and go see the buyers in the neighbourhood they all pass through. That’s where it makes an impression’.” An offbeat approach in the vein of guerrilla marketing, and one that above all aligns with the skate spirit championed by the young label, which schedules around 15 appointments a day with international buyers.

But drawing attention isn’t everything. Village PM then wins over its audience with an innovative proposition in the skate world. Having worked at Salomon and the Annecy-based footwear development specialist All Triangle, Basile Lapray brings his expertise from the outdoor sector. The 1PM, the brand’s first model, introduces a silhouette unfamiliar in skateboarding by bringing the precision of climbing shoes to the footwork needed to land tricks, and by using climbing-shoe rubber to protect the upper from abrasion. The brand has even patented its process under the name Rubber Glove Technology.

“Our analysis was that today’s skate market is dominated by mainstream giants such as Nike, Adidas, and New Balance, who very often offer footwear derived from other sports or lifestyle,” says Basile Lapray. “We felt there was an opportunity to bring a technical offering with strong legitimacy to the market.”

The concept has struck a chord with skaters, and its style also appeals to fashion-conscious urbanites. The founding duo draw on their network and industry contacts, enabling them to scale up production and keep pace with Village PM’s strong start.

The brand already boasts around 120 retailers in Europe, including leading skate stores such as Nozbone in Paris, Wall St in Lyon, ABS in Lyon, The Collateral in Switzerland, 911 in Belgium, and Skatestore in the Netherlands. It has also won over stores at the cutting edge of fashion trends, led by The Broken Arm in Paris, which has supported the brand from the outset. The label, which will offer four different models for autumn/winter 2026, is stocked by Kith, Dover Street Market (in London and Paris), Slam Jam in Italy and Très Bien in Sweden.

“We have an average price of €120. That puts us at the higher end in skate shops. But it’s a very attractive proposition, with a distinctive and differentiated world for premium stores,” notes the co-founder.

The duo, who will be strengthening their team this year, intend to capitalise on the momentum around their offer while keeping growth under control. Village PM will begin its expansion in Japan this year with around 30 points of sale, before turning to the ultimate skate market: the US.