Vans never made a Squid Game shoe. There is no collaboration, no licensed product, no press release — and Vans does not even operate a newsroom in which one could have been announced. The plimsolls the players wear simply resemble the ordinary Classic Slip-On, which costs $60 and has for years.
That matters because the white slip-on is one of the most-searched costume items of the last five years, and almost every page selling it implies an official link that does not exist. Below: how we checked, what is genuinely licensed, and one collaboration that was real and has quietly vanished.
How we checked the Vans question
Three ways, all on channels Vans controls:
- Vans' own site search for "Squid Game" returns nothing. Not a sold-out listing, not an archive page — zero matches. The page falls back to a generic carousel of Old Skool at $75 and Classic Slip-On at $60.
- There is no Vans newsroom. The subdomain where one would live does not resolve at all.
- The parent company's newsroom contains no mention of "squid" anywhere. A licensing deal with a global phenomenon is not a thing a public company forgets to announce.
For contrast, when a brand does license this show, it says so loudly — see PUMA below, which issued two dated press releases.
What did happen was reported by the press rather than announced by the brand. In October 2021, business and footwear outlets reported an enormous sales spike for the slip-on in the weeks after the show landed, and noted that the production had not been paid by Vans. We are describing that reporting rather than quoting a figure, because the specific percentage that circulates is repeated everywhere and we could not open an original source for it. The shoe became associated with the show by coincidence and resemblance, and the market did the rest.
One honest nuance we have not seen anyone else make. Because there was never a deal, nobody has established that the on-screen shoes are Vans at all. They are white slip-on plimsolls. They look like the Classic Slip-On. That is the whole extent of the evidence, which is why we have graded that item as unconfirmed rather than pretending otherwise.
Practical upshot: if you want the look, buy the Classic Slip-On at $60 because it is a good cheap shoe, not because it is "the Squid Game shoe." And if a listing charges you a premium for that phrase, you are paying for a phrase.
What is officially licensed, with prices
The tracksuit is the real answer, and it is straightforward.
Netflix's own shop is genuinely stocked — which is worth saying because we have found the opposite on several of their other collections. Checked 9 August 2026:
| Item | Price | Sizes |
|---|---|---|
| Squid Game Player 456 Jacket | $89.95 | XS–XXXL, all available |
| Squid Game Player Stripe Sweatpants | $74.95 | XXS–6XL, all available |
| Pink Soldier Jacket | $79.95 | — |
| Pink Soldier Sweatpants | $74.95 | — |
Note they are sold as separates, so the full player look is $164.90 before shipping. The size range on the sweatpants — XXS to 6XL — is unusually wide for licensed costume apparel and worth knowing if that has been your obstacle.
Beyond the tracksuit, the same shop carries around 140 items from $4.95 to $110.95, including some genuine third-party licensees rather than print-on-demand: Cloud Factory jewellery (a soldier mask necklace at $69.95, a Young-hee doll necklace at $110.95), VANDYTHEPINK collaboration tees at $36.95 and a hoodie at $64.95, and a Youtooz plush at $32.95.
On shipping, a caveat. The shop offers UK, Canadian and Australian currencies, which indicates it serves all four of our markets — but we could not load its shipping policy page to confirm terms, so treat international delivery as probable rather than verified.
The collaboration that was real and is now gone
PUMA did license Squid Game, twice. Both are confirmed by PUMA's own newsroom: a first collection announced in December 2024 — a remade T7 track jacket and pants in teal-green velour, plus Suede and Easy Rider sneakers — and a second in July 2025 adding Palermo and Easy Rider styles, a football jersey and a bucket hat.
This was the premium version of the tracksuit, made by an actual sportswear brand rather than a costume supplier.
You cannot buy any of it. PUMA's US collaboration page still loads with all its marketing copy in place and then reports zero products. The UK equivalent returns a 404. A site search for "squid game" on PUMA US returns nothing.
We keep encountering this pattern — a live shopfront with an empty shelf behind it — and it is the single most common way readers get sent to a dead end by pages that were accurate a year ago.
Worth noting for our audience: even when it existed, PUMA's US store shipped only within the United States.
The lamp, and a correction to what we expected to find
We went looking for the Artemide Eclisse on the assumption it appeared in the show. It did not. There is no Artemide statement about the lamp appearing on screen, and we could find no evidence of one.
What actually exists is a licensed 2025 special edition created with Netflix — three variants named Player, Pink Guard and Black Officer, the latter two with removable magnetic masks, built on Vico Magistretti's 1965 design. A collaboration, not a prop.
We are spelling this out because "as seen in Squid Game" is how it is usually described, and that framing is wrong.
It is also being cleared out. Artemide's own product page now redirects to their homepage, and the standard Eclisse remains on sale while the Squid Game variants have gone. Dealers still hold stock at heavy discounts: a US retailer lists it at $264, reduced from $330, with only two remaining; a German dealer has it at €156 against a €260 list price, a 40% cut — and has quietly renamed the product to drop "Squid Game" from the title while leaving it in the web address.
Manufacturer page gone, retailers renaming it, deep discounts. That is what the end of a licence window looks like.
What we would buy
- The Netflix jacket and sweatpants at $164.90 if you want the actual licensed tracksuit. Every size is available and the range is genuinely inclusive.
- The Classic Slip-On at $60 — from Vans, at the normal price, with no premium for the association. It is the same shoe it has always been.
- The Eclisse at $264 or €156 if you liked the lamp, understanding that you are buying a discontinued licensed edition of a 1965 classic at closeout, not a prop.
- Not a "Squid Game shoe" from a marketplace listing. There is no such product to be authentic to.
FAQ
Are the Squid Game shoes Vans? There is no Vans collaboration — no product, no press release, and no newsroom in which one could have been announced. The players wear white slip-on plimsolls that resemble the Vans Classic Slip-On, but no source establishes that the on-screen shoes are that shoe.
How much is the Vans Classic Slip-On? $60 in the US, at Vans' ordinary price. Any listing charging more because of the show is charging for the association.
Where can I buy the official green tracksuit? Netflix's own shop: the Player 456 Jacket at $89.95 and Player Stripe Sweatpants at $74.95, sold separately. Sizes run XS–XXXL and XXS–6XL respectively, all available.
Was the PUMA collection real? Yes — two collections, announced by PUMA in December 2024 and July 2025. Neither is buyable now. The US page shows zero products and the UK page returns an error.
Is the Artemide Eclisse in the show? No. It is a licensed 2025 special edition made with Netflix in three variants, not a lamp that appears on screen. That distinction is almost always reported wrong.
Can I still buy the Squid Game Eclisse? Only from dealers, at closeout. Artemide's own page now redirects away. A US retailer had it at $264 down from $330; a German dealer at €156 against a €260 list.
Does Netflix's shop deliver outside the US? It offers UK, Canadian and Australian currencies, which suggests yes, but we could not load its shipping terms to confirm.
What is the cheapest honest way to do the costume? A plain green tracksuit and white slip-ons will read correctly to anyone who has watched the show. The licensed jacket and trousers at $164.90 are the official route; nothing between those two options is more "authentic" than the other.