Timberland’s Global Streetwear Influence On Culture Is Celebrated In Its Future73 Program

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By Cassell Ferere originally published on Forbes.com

Notable bootmaker and brand Timberland has hit the 50th anniversary of one of its iconic shoes. A celebration of Timberland's original wheat-colored Premium 6-Inch Waterproof [“construction”] Boot is upon us. Timberland's six-inch boot is crowned as a New York City, self-proclaimed staple. The boot famously worn by hip-hop pioneers like Wu-Tang, who sported baggy silhouettes that covered the boot almost entirely, coming out of the 90s into the 2000s when JayZ wore denim would be slimmer to the oversized style and partly tucked into his boot. 

Nas has spoken words in his music referencing a suede pair of “Tims” completing his streetwear aesthetic and presence. And the late Notorious B.I.G. famously rapped about the beloved boot, particularly in the black colorway because of its rebellious aesthetic. It’s become a casual hangout boot for everyday wear and has seen construction sites less and less over its half a century while remaining a foundation for streetwear culture. 

Future73 represents the year the bootmaker founded the brand in 1973 and its outlook for the next half-century. Timberland has opened its facility and maker space, called The Shed, to six talented creatives to envision the next 50 years of the iconic pair of wheat-colored ‘Tims.’ This collective of world-renowned creatives has revealed each design personally and talked through the capsules, their interpretation of the six-inch boot, and the sentiment the boot has had over their sartorial experience.

Future73 features world-renowned designers Christopher Raeburn, a British designer and founder of his own responsible fashion label, RAEBURN,  Samuel Ross, another British designer with Caribbean roots and founder of A-COLD-WALL*, as well as Humberto Leon, a Los Angeles-based designer, retailer, creative director, and restaurateur. 

Also on the roster is Edison Chen, Canadian-born Hong Kong actor turned creator and founder of streetwear and lifestyle brand CLOT, Nina Chanel Abney, the Chicago-born, New York-based contemporary painter and artist and Suzanne Oude Hengel, the Netherlands-based knit researcher and footwear innovator and founder of Knit In Motion.

The Future73 program has brought together world views influenced by the Timberland Premium 6-Inch Boot to some effect. The future of the boot was the stakes, and the designers complemented their iterations with capsule collections that deepened the narrative of each story. With the help and guidance of senior footwear designer Christopher Dixon and vice president of global product design Chris Mcgrath, and the team in the maker space known as The Shed, Timberland’s new in-house design innovation lab caters to these moments in footwear history.

Further exploring diverse design and equity among the culture and communities that have risen the street credibility of the six-inch premium boot, Timberland is partnering with CNSTNT:DVLPMNT, launching February 24. The CNSTNT:DVLPMNT team is a small Black-owned business founded by Timberland footwear designer Dixon [and multi-disciplinary designer Melvin Melchor] to cultivate talent and expand the creative community through accessible activations.

The project is producing the first-ever Premium Six-Inch Boot designed for disassembly through the Timberloop circularity platform from the mind of Chris Raeburn. Raeburn says his iteration “is a real honor, also an opportunity to bring together the learnings we have over five years, into the product you're looking at today. But it's also a bit of an obligation. We've worked hard to think where Timberland is going to be in 50 years. And I know that's a big step from where's it even going to be in 10 years. And that makes it a bit more tangible.”

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