Timber!!! Timberland has launched the seventh and final collaboration of its Future73 series, in partnership with London-based designer, Christopher Raeburn. The Timberland® x RAEBURN Future73 Collection reimagines The Original Timberland® Boot with purpose and the planet in mind.
“Back in 2007, Timberland released the Earthkeepers boot, one of the most progressive thinking pieces of footwear to date. From a production standpoint, it was eons ahead of other designs that were out there; Timberland was really considering material choices and the longevity of products. I was really impressed and inspired as a young designer to see a big brand work like this and in a way, it further validated the work I’ve been doing with RAEBURN,” said the designer.
An especially formative moment for Raeburn during Future73 was when he spent a week in New Hampshire at ‘The Shed’ – Timberland’s in-house prototyping lab and maker space. It was here he developed his ideas for the footwear, dissecting and reassembling the Timberland® Premium 6-Inch Boot, and introducing innovative and unexpected materials such as parachute fabric, Tyvek, and snow camouflage.
The Timberland® x Christopher Raeburn Future73 6-Inch Pull-On Boot looks to the future to protect the present. RAEBURN drew inspiration from parachute canopies – a cornerstone material of the RAEBURN brand – and implemented his resourceful ‘Raemade’ approach, which sees existing materials transformed into original designs and given a new lease of life.
“What we need to do as an industry is design garments that are mono fiber; that are designed for circularity and disassembly,” Raeburn said.
A Timberland collaborator for over five years, Raeburn’s capsule is an extension of the Raeburn Timberland Earthkeeper boots he designed for Spring 2023. Conceptually, he envisaged what a Timberland mission to Mars in 2073 could look like, with utility as a means of survival. Raeburn’s research process led him to delve deep into both Timberland’s archive as well as his own to create a new hybridized aesthetic centering on protection, layering, and functionality. Outerwear cocoons and cushions the wearer as they move throughout the world, while angular seam work and engineered pockets emulate the pattern pieces of a parachute.
Reducing environmental impact has been integral to the RAEBURN brand since it was established in 2009 – long before the word ‘sustainability’ was common in the fashion lexicon. The Timberland® x RAEBURN Future73 capsule of gender-neutral ready-to-wear upholds these values; a Puffer Jacket design has a 100% regenerative organic cotton shell and recycled down filling; an Overshirt and matching Cargo Pants are cut from regenerative organic cotton and Knit Crew Neck and Tee also made with 100% regenerative cotton.
