The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

From the feet of lumberjacks to those of rap stars, the crazy saga of Timberland boots, cult despite themselves

2023-04-04T16:08:00.398Z


Originally designed for lumberjacks, the famous nubuck boots have conquered the world, from Rihanna to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, passing through the new generation. How to perpetuate the myth? Reporting from the source, in the small town of Stratham, in the United States.


Fashion events are rare in Stratham, a small town of some 7,600 souls located in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States.

The places owe their reputation more to hiking trails, harsh winters, or its wild plains dotted with huge bodies of water, than to small get-togethers between fashion people

.

.

However, at the end of February 2023, a concentration of artists and designers presented the fruit of their collaboration with Timberland.

The brand's head office has always been based in this forest setting, located just under a hundred kilometers from the city of Boston.

Designers Humberto Leon (formerly at Kenzo and founder of Opening Ceremony), Samuel Ross (former assistant to Virgil Abloh and founder of the A Cold Wall brand), Christopher Raeburn (upcycling specialist), actor Edison Chen ( founder of Clot), designer Suzanne Oude Hengel and artist Nina Chanel Abney portrayed their vision of an iconic object: the 6 Inch Boot.

To discover

  • Podcast >

    “the Beckhams 2/4: the dizzying success of two class defectors”

  • Business with Attitude:

    vote for your favorite candidate

This construction shoe is recognizable among a thousand: with a notched rubber sole, a round toe and an unparalleled honey color, it has made Timberland a legend.

For fifty years, this utilitarian and lifestyle

clothing giant

has surfed on a wave of demand for this model, whose first pairs, worn by lumberjacks, have now become a wardrobe standard.

But how to ensure that the enthusiasm does not run out of steam?

Stirring up the increasingly fickle desire of teenagers?

And to ensure that these lace-up boots, now in their fifties, will still remain relevant in the next fifty years?

A honey-colored future

This day of February therefore, Timberland received at home.

And gave an overview of his thinking on the subject, worked with a team of artists and cutting-edge designers.

From the inscription of his cult shoe in the future, there often remains in creative minds a form, sometimes also, the famous honey yellow, like the model presented by Humberto Leon, whose notched sole takes on cartoonish attire.

“I wanted to celebrate the iconic spirit of the shoe, emphasizing its soul that comes directly from pop culture.

I projected these details by accentuating their contours”, explains the American designer in reference to the eyelets, laces, sole and label whose features he has ostensibly augmented.

The 6 Inch Boot redesigned by American designer Humberto Leon Timberland

There are also functional additions and choices of recycled or more technical coverings, such as parachute fabrics reused by the Briton Christopher Raeburn.

Thus, each of the collaborators portrays a desire to combine a utilitarian approach and a conceptual aesthetic.

“They took the Timberland Premium 6-Inch boot and transformed it through the lens of their own bold innovation and design ethos, giving us a glimpse of what the icon of the future might look like.

It is our heritage, with their vision, and together we are forging the new frontiers of boot culture,” explains Drieke Leenknegt, director of marketing at Timberland.

Craze in Milan

This innovative and aesthetic grammar is rather recent in Timberland history.

It took shape in 2011, after the takeover of the brand by the sportswear giant VF Corporation (owner of Vans, The North Face and Eastpak, among others).

To relaunch its machine, then in decline, the brand chose to keep its utilitarian DNA, and to fully assume its urban style, which is at the origin of its enormous success story, which has long passed between the meshes of all Marketing strategy.

In the beginning, velvety nubuck shoes, developed by Sidney Swartz in 1973, had no other vocation than to put on the feet of lumberjacks.

The latter appreciated the robustness, the waterproofness, as well as the color of the model, very practical to make themselves visible in the middle of the branches and other rough terrain.

But the case took an unexpected turn in the 1980s, with a sudden craze in Italy.

Rolled-up jeans (Levi's 501 or Emporio Armani models on the front line), Timberland boots, a plaid shirt or polo shirt, Ray-Bans, a Moncler down jacket and a backpack are the panoply of any "

paninari

 " who respects himself.

The term refers to the style adopted at the time by Milan's gilded youth - whose name derives from their frequentation of the Al Panino bar in Milan - eager to appropriate the American look, imposed itself throughout the country, then exports between New York, Paris, Tokyo and everywhere in the cities of the planet.

This is how the 6-Inch boot takes its first steps into urban culture.

But the paninari

reference

is quickly swallowed up.

The booming Timberland shoe business escaped the brand's marketing forecast again in the 1990s, falling under the influence of hip-hop stars.

A fringe of rap represented by Wu-Tang Clan, Aaliyah, Mobb Deep and DMX finds itself in the locker room of extra-wide pants, visible boxer shorts, hoodies and XXL t-shirts.

And pricked with a pair of Timberland.

This one is steeped in the words of New York rappers, such as those of producer Timbaland who will also dedicate his stage name to him.

Rapper Biggie Smalls wears it during his concerts and talks about it in his song

Hypnotize

released in 1997, while Nas made them tireless companions throughout his career.

As convinced followers, the artists like to recall their obsession for this lace-up boot.

Checkerboard boots and pop sandals, the unbridled shoes of spring

In images, in pictures

See the slideshow12 photos

See the slideshow12 photos

The uniform shoe

This romance with hip-hop made Timberland's heyday despite management's reluctance in the beginning.

This one fears that it will confuse the brand identity which is based on the technicality and the authenticity of the product.

But the figures send doubts waltzing.

Between 1991 and 2000, the brand's profits rose from 74 million euros to more than 464 million euros.

And in 2000, revenues exceeded one billion dollars (928 million euros).

The yellow shoe and its unofficial ambassadors who worship it endlessly have a lot to do with it.

The American firm sells millions of pairs, without ever reviewing the design of its shoe, nor the 39 components or the 80 steps required to manufacture it.

The attitude and the look conveyed by its influencers of the time do the rest.

Among the teenagers of the 1990s, the lace-up boot served as a uniform.

In addition to style, there is the desire to wear solid, comfortable shoes.

“To be adopted and loved, shoes must fulfill a contract of performance and functionality.

If the contract is fulfilled, then they have the best chance of crossing the ages,” explains Drieke Leenknegt, marketing director of the brand.

But from 2006, sales stagnated.

Until 2010, the brand suffered some losses, and struggled to return to its cruising growth.

It will need a takeover by VF Corporation and a shift in its communication to get back on its feet.

Timberland begins to cultivate its fashion card, in particular its streetwear heritage.

Without losing sight of its utilitarian nature, the image of which still endures today.

Evidenced by the appearance of Rishi Sunak in November 2022, making his first visit to Ukraine as British Prime Minister.

To meet the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky who now only appears in military uniform, the Briton had put on his pair of croquenots.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on a surprise visit to Ukraine.

(kyiv, November 19, 2022.) ABACA

love and frustration

But the timpani of the

hype

, the brand will above all look for it by multiplying collaborations with artists and designers.

In 2017, she hit hard, getting closer to rapper Nas with whom she signed a capsule collection.

And is testing a new sales strategy: the “drop”.

A technique perpetuated in the 1990s by streetwear brands: Supreme (entered the ranks of VF Corporation in 2020) is the spearhead.

The brand starts to distribute mini-collections drop by drop and parachute without warning in the middle of seasonal items.

The practice, unstoppable for reaching the younger generation and activating the desire touch, is based on the strategy of rarity.

It creates a sense of urgency, exclusivity, even frustration.

The shoe then becomes an object of covetousness and speculation.

The models declined and desired are legion.

On Stock X, some shoes like the Timberland x Off White are resold for up to twice their price.

As a result, this accessory, usually confined to sturdy feet, rises on its pedestal to make style a claim in its own right... It seems, it's on track to last.

Source: lefigaro

All life articles on 2023-04-04

You may like

Trends 24h

Life/Entertain 2024-03-28T17:17:20.523Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.