Sometimes the strongest designs are the ones that feel familiar from the moment you first see them. That has been part of the appeal behind Casablanca’s Del Mar since its introduction in 2025. While many luxury brands continue to chase performance technology or futuristic aesthetics, Casablanca looked backwards, taking inspiration from the cool of California skate culture and translating it through the house’s distinctly refined lens.
Originally unveiled as part of Casablanca’s Spring/Summer 2025 collection, Can’t Get Enough, the Del Mar emerged from a season shaped by the laid-back energy of Los Angeles and the sophistication of the brand’s Parisian roots. It was a collection that explored Southern California’s cultural identity through sport, leisure and youth culture, with skateboarding becoming one of its most prominent influences.
A Love Letter to Skateboarding’s Golden Era
The Del Mar takes its name from the legendary Del Mar Skate Ranch, the Californian skatepark that helped define skateboarding throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Long before skateboarding became a global industry, places like Del Mar served as laboratories for progression, creativity and community. Some of the sport’s most influential figures developed their style there, helping shape the future of skateboarding during one of its most important eras.
That history is woven throughout the sneaker. Instead of recreating a technical skate shoe, Casablanca borrows from the visual language that defined the category during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Canvas-panelled uppers, chunky laces, rubber toe caps and flat soles all feel immediately recognisable, evoking the golden age of skate footwear while avoiding overt nostalgia.
According to Casablanca Brand Art Director Steve Grimes, the project was particularly personal. Having grown up skateboarding himself, the Del Mar became an opportunity to revisit a culture that played a significant role in shaping his creative outlook.
Familiar Codes, Elevated Execution
What makes the Del Mar stand apart is its ability to balance authenticity with luxury. The proportions lean into the puffier aesthetic associated with classic skate shoes, while material choices and finishing elevate the silhouette far beyond its sporting roots.
A subtle but meaningful detail arrives through the sneaker’s logo, which takes the shape of the iconic kidney-shaped Californian swimming pools that became synonymous with skateboarding’s progression. Before dedicated skateparks became widespread, empty pools provided skaters with entirely new terrain to explore, influencing generations of riders and helping define the visual identity of the culture itself.
Growing Beyond Its Original Release
When the Del Mar first launched, it came in just two colourways: green and white, alongside an off-white and sand combination. Since then, the silhouette has steadily expanded into one of Casablanca’s most important footwear propositions.
Today, the line-up includes signature house colour combinations such as red and white, navy and white, green and white, and an understated all-black option. Seasonal additions have also introduced richer textures and materials, including a standout blue suede version finished with croc-effect embossing that adds another layer of luxury to the silhouette.
Each colourway has been designed to sit naturally alongside Casablanca’s ready-to-wear collections, reinforcing the sneaker’s position within the broader universe of the brand rather than existing as a standalone product.
