Louis Vuitton has set a date for the release of its eagerly awaited collaboration with Timberland.
The shoes are set to pre-launch on July 18 on the brand’s website and the LV app via a dedicated landing page, and will be available in stores worldwide on Aug. 8, the French fashion house said on Tuesday.
The collaboration was unveiled by menswear creative director Pharrell Williams in January as part of his Western-themed fall collection.
It will mark the first release of Vuitton’s interpretation of the original Timberland. Crafted in the house’s footwear workshop in Fiesso, Italy, the workwear boot will be available in two core categories and several adaptations.
Each style is created in Italian nubuck leather with PrimaLoft insulation and seam-sealed waterproof construction, and features the work boot’s signature rubber lug outsole, Vuitton said in a statement provided to WWD.
The LV 6-Inch looks identical to Timberland’s traditional 6-Inch boot from afar, but the nubuck is embossed with the LV Monogram. It comes in two colorways, wheat or black, and features a Monogram-embossed tongue lining and leather tags.
The LV Boot pumps up the volume of the 6-Inch silhouette by 15 percent, meaning the difference is only readily apparent when you compare the two side by side. It comes in four styles: an ankle boot, a ranger boot, a pull-on mid boot and a pull-on harness boot.
The shoes are priced between 2,200 euros and 2,600 euros. By comparison, a standard pair of Timberland 6-Inch boots retails for 220 euros in France.
Vuitton will also release a special limited edition of 50 LV 6-Inch ankle boots made of Monogram Italian leather with 18-karat gold hardware. Priced at 75,000 euros, they come in a bespoke Monogram leather and plexiglass shoebox with natural leather trims.
The Timberland collaboration reflects Vuitton’s close association with the rap and hip-hop communities, underscored by the appointment on Monday of Pusha T as its latest brand ambassador.
The workwear boot was popularized by musicians including Wu-Tang Clan, Jay-Z, Tupac Shakur, Kanye West and The Notorious B.I.G., who frequently rapped about his “Timbs.” The boots were also adopted by female stars like Rihanna, Missy Elliott and Aaliyah.
It’s not the first big footwear collaboration for Vuitton, which under its previous menswear designer, the late Virgil Abloh, launched its own versions of Nike’s iconic Air Force 1 trainers.
Williams also has a history with Timberland, having designed several styles of the boot through his streetwear brand Billionaire Boys Club’s Bee Line collection. In 2022, a Timberland boot he customized with his own drawings sold for $7,500 on his auction platform Joopiter.
Vuitton released a first drop of the fall collection on July 4, followed by images of its campaign set among snowy mountains in what looks like Wyoming, but is actually the ski resort of Livigno in the Italian Alps.
The Timberland range is part of a capsule line of workwear-inspired ready-to-wear, bags and accessories that will make up the second drop on Aug. 8.
“Workwear has always been important to folks in the rap community and our demographic because a lot of times life is cold, and life can be rough and life can be hard, and when you’re enduring all these types of conditions, you want something that’s gonna wear and last,” Williams told reporters after his show in January.
“And Timberland, it just makes sense. It’s something that we love, but at the same time, whether you’re, like, in the ‘hood or you’re like somewhere in a factory, Timberlands, they last long,” he continued. “If you’re going to spend your disposable income at a time like this, it needs to be for something that’s actually really going to last.”
The capsule collection includes a limited-edition Keepall 50 Toolbox bag, a utility-inspired version of the house’s signature bag that will retail for 20,000 euros.
Made from natural leather and lined in coated Monogram canvas, it features multiple exterior pockets and rivets. Other accessories include an engraved steel flask and cigarette case.
The clothing options include suits in overdyed jacquards available in a palette of browns, black and beiges, as well as trucker jackets and roomy coats with yokes and leather appliqué motifs borrowed from the traditional Western wardrobe.
Details such as turquoise-colored buttons, pearls, embroideries and studs reflect the dandified flourishes that Williams has brought to his collections so far.
