The HIGHXTAR. team had the opportunity to travel to London to celebrate the birth of a fashion and cultural icon: the 6-Inch/ Timberland Original Boot®.
Timberland celebrated the 50th anniversary of its iconic yellow 6-Inch boot in London under the concept This Is Not A Rave and we couldn’t miss it. We landed in London-Gatwick and moved to Farringdon, one of the neighbourhoods that has evolved in recent years into a very interesting place, where we had the hotel ‘The Bryson Hotel’. After eating in a London Pub to get into the London spirit, we received a message with a Secret Location…. in true 90’s Rave Spirit style. It was the iconic London nightclub Fabric London where we took them to meet Giorgio D’Aprile, Vice President of Marketing for Timberland Europe, Middle East and Africa.
And after that… Let’s enjoy the exclusive party for the 50th anniversary of the birth of the 6-Inch/ Timberland Original Boot®! The event was a chronological journey through the history of the brand, as well as its most iconic models. Through the different rooms of Fabric London we visualized, as if it were an exhibition, each of the silhouettes that have been part of the brand, as well as the most outstanding collaborations such as Future73. Future73 is a project in which Timberland brought together a team of prominent designers to reimagine the brand’s classic silhouettes in a futuristic light.
Among the Future73 designers are: Edison Chen, founder of urban brand CLOT; Samuel Ross, British designer and founder of A-COLD-WALL*; Suzanne Oude Hengel, founder of Knit In Motion; Nina Chanel Abney, Chicago-born, New York-based painter and contemporary artist; Humberto Leon, Los Angeles-based creative director and restaurateur; and Christopher Raeburn, British designer and founder of responsible fashion brand, RAEBURN. Of the collections we saw we highlight the 50th Premium Edition Collection and the 50th Edition Butters Collection created expressly for the anniversary.
As well as celebrating Timberland’s legacy with an eye to the future, there was also a yellow boot customisation workshop by Nigerian-born, UK-based artist Soldier. Another highlight was the brand’s exclusive screening of its new documentary directed by New Zealand filmmaker Tom Gould. This is Not a Boot: The Story of an Icon’. The film tells the story of the brand and features cultural figures such as Jeff Stapie, ASAP Ferg, Rakim, Ronnie Fieg, Veneda Carter, Fat Joe, Angie Martine and more. The event ended on a high note with the performance of Deviation and Benji B’s DJ Set, who brought the street culture of the Timbs to the purest London Rave.
It is well known that the brand’s deepest and most enduring connection has been with hip-hop culture, which began in the 90s. Now, it is the new generations who are the bearers of this silhouette. That’s why the event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the iconic boot brought together the entire creative community of the British capital. Guests included rapper and model ASAP Nast, Top Boy actors Kadeem Ramsay and Araloyin Oshunremi, TV presenter Zeze Millz, models and former Love Island contestants Dami Hope and Martin Akinola, rapper Ivorian Doll, model and daughter of Idris, Isan Elba, singer Pip Millett and many more.
To give you some context, since its launch in 1973, the Timberland boot has become a hallmark, carrying the tree logo to every corner of the globe. The footwear industry was revolutionised when the company decided to apply injection moulding technology to create a fully waterproof leather work boot. Nobody trusted this approach, as it was feared that the leather would be ruined, and criticism began to rain down on Nathan Swartz, a veteran shoemaker, and his son Sidney. What the world didn’t know was that it was the birth of one of the most iconic silhouettes of all time. Its success was such that in 1978 the company adopted the name Timberland.
Various cultural movements have been key to making this boot an element full of meaning. From the Paninaro in Milan, the modern inputs of the London scene of the 90s, its adoption by the Harajuku trendsetters in Tokyo and the appropriation of this shoe as a fundamental part of the look of the Hip-Hop culture in New York, have all contributed to it being a design recognised around the world and linked to a way of thinking, feeling and doing. In fact, the most iconic rappers of all time such as Biggie, NAS and DMX have been the ultimate exponents of this silhouette. This exciting history and all the curiosities surrounding it are brought back to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the yellow boot.
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