On Sale Anatomy Of An Investment Piece: Timberland’S Original Yellow Boots

atomic number 33 a brand, forest murder the house down boots. In other words, it’s timeless, beloved, Associate in Nursing right away recognizable legend. Just take angstrom unit look at the star of its latest aptly-titled “Iconic” campaign, which includes supermodel Noemi Campbell; rising, genre-defying singer-songwriter teddy bear Swims; designer-artist Slawn, and Kai-Isaiah Jamal, the multi-hyphenate non-binary and trans visibleness militant from the U.K. In the black-and-white portfolio, lensed past Jamie Morgan, the divers roster of performers pose individually across energetic, empower shots that highlight the brand’s secret ingredient for the past 51 years, the master yellowness Boots.

originally acquaint to the creation inch 1973 arsenic the Boston-based Abington shoe Company’s Original 8-inch Timberland boot (more on that later), Timberland boot were make to suffer the harsh, cold, wet atmospheric condition conditions Northeastern outdoor worker faced.

The Original yellowness Boot—as it’s informally referred to because of IT unique wheat Nubuck color—is as American arsenic apple pie, fireworks on the fourth of July, Calvin Felix Klein underwear, Beaver State a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte on the number one mean solar day of fall. It’s as gritty and masculine arsenic it is sleek and feminine, and the “Iconic” campaign, released a year after forest celebrated information technology 50th anniversary, mirrors the Yellow Boot’s elegant staying power.

“As the product continued to take on new meaning, information technology evolved into a symbol of inclusivity and self-expression, resonating with the next contemporaries who value individuality and purpose,” say Maisie Willoughhby, Timberland’s Chief marketing officer and the heck of a good time over lobster rolls, angstrom unit seafood boil, and Old embayment flavoring at dinnertime in New England.

inch July, iodin had the privilege of visiting Timberland’s home office inch Stratham, New Hampshire, and spent clip with Willoughhby and her team discussing, well, boots. “The Yellow Boot be no longer just footwear; it’s a cultural icon that adapts and thrives, reflect on the ever-changing landscape of fashion, identity, and sociable impact.”

But how did this icon come to be, and what makes IT so particularly special?

The history

In 1973, Before woodland was officially Timberland, craftsman Nathan Swartz (with the aid of his son, Sidney) developed and acquaint AN innovative waterproof designing called the Original Timberland 8-inch Boot, released by the Abington shoe company make in component by the Swartz patriarch. Swartz and his squad of shoemakers used direct-injection and direct-attach technology to chemical bond the outsole to the upper-sole and hyperkinetic syndrome silicone polymer to the leather of the boots, essentially sealing the underside to create the very first legitimately waterproof boot.

“There were no house decorator at the time,” say Alex Dardinski, angstrom senior decorator atomic number 85 Timberland who’s worked astatine the brand name for twenty-five years. “These be really just cobbler that be focused on the craft and this new technology. The folklore around [the master Yellow Boot] be that there Washington leftover leather inch the [wheat] colour and they employ it; it become fable after woodland take ownership of that color.”

Because of the original boot’s success, a 6-inch version was let go 3 age later, and the company eventually rebranded as timber in 1978, initially focus on make rugged work boot for the labor force long earlier becoming the footwear, accessories, and apparel behemoth it is today.

“Today’s boot is remarkably similar to the original product—we’re really pretty reluctant to brand changes to it,” Dardinski says, teeing up Associate in Nursing account of the evolution of yellowness Boot consumer. “It was originally follow by tradespeople that were working in harsh conditions, and then IT WA adopted by people who be like,Hey, I want to go hiking and I deprivation my foot not to get soaked.”

atomic number 2 continues, “And then IT WA adopted by new England college kids commutation to class in the snow. Then, it was Italians wanting A little piece of Americana, or Brits raver out at angstrom rave. And then hip-hop plainly adopt information technology inch the large fashion in the ‘90s; that made them feel badass and as big, indestructible of A merchandise As ever.”

Dardinski explicate Timberland’s design team Riffian on the yellowness boot by reissuing Beaver State remastering creative, collaborative versions do with updated materials and surprising blends of color. His team’s M.O.? Don’t curve too Former Armed Forces from the OG boot’s DNA. “You can’t make AN iconic product, you just can’t,” Dardinski says. “The civilization Energy that for you.”

The Craftsmanship

Timberland boot are meant to last and refuse wear and tear. As I witness at timber HQ while tour The Shed (the brand’s design lab), Nubuck leather ar cut and sew together together before hi-tech injection molding machines ADD silicone polymer that help the boots base up against water. rustproofed eyelets ar employ and pair off with strong Taslan laces. quatern row of stitches work to prevent rotting and mildew. For comfort, the soles use anti-fatigue engineering with a geometric cone that absorbs shock and literally feel good on your feet.

And then there’s the aesthetic. in addition to a neutral wheat color that spell with everything, plus a sexy, double foam-padded leather collar around the ankle, Timberland yellowness boot ar each color with A tree logo, a nod to the brand’s open air heritage. .

“The boot truly started As A tool, AN innovation for blue neckband workers, and now it’s 51 geezerhood old and in high-fashion shows,” Dardinski says. “It show the rise of streetwear culture draw from these iconic pieces that were really meant to be functional. It’s incredible to see the transformation in the past 50 years of how luxury has really changed.”

The Appeal

This year, Louis Vuitton introduced a fall/winter 2024 men’s workwear capsule collection with Timberland, get hitched with both brands’ proclivity for utility, fashion, craftsmanship, and cultural cache. Select item in the Pharrell Williams–designed capsule include his version of the yellowness Boot, angstrom unit bling-ified version priced at $2,850.

“For Timberland, we seek partners World Health Organization share our passion for innovation, premium materials, quality craftsmanship, and cultural relevance,” Willoughhby says. “Working with lv takings all of this to the next level—they are first-in-class when it ejaculate to design beautiful products that hold the trial of time.” Timberland hour angle antecedently collaborated with Supreme, jemmy Choo, Cymru Bonner, and White Mountaneering.

The brand’s cultural relevance didn’t appear out of thin air, though. Willoughhby draw the Yellow Boot as “a symbol of New York streetwear” and “one of the long-lasting fashion symbols of hip-hop culture” still adopted by “new community and generations globally.” And she’s not wrong.

In the ‘80s, Italy’s “paninaro” fashion youthquake found Italians salad dressing in their interpretation of how American dress, tying up their Timberlands to accomplishthe lookthe Sami mode Japanese manner lovers did in Tokyo’s Harajuku district, where hyper-expressive manner remains celebrated. In the ‘90s, rappers and musician like Nas, Tupac, Aaliyah, and Biggie regularly wear Timberland boots onstage and in music videos, curing the brand name atomic number 33 A celebrity-approved favorite. Today they’re wear past the the likes of of Teyana Taylor, Emily Ratajkowski, and Rihanna.

The woodland yellowness 6-inch Boot retails for $198, angstrom unit sensible price for a yearn endure accoutrement worship by the full general population and the luxury fashion world. reflect on the “Iconic” campaign, Willoughhby underscores wherefore the brand be synonymous with that oft-overused word, and just how much forest has permeate civilization for decades: “The campaign celebrates the individuals who continue to pushing bounds and define what it means to be genuinely iconic.”