Birkinstock reveals the all new #B O L D collection 

World renowned open footwear expert, Birkinstocks; has stepped wholeheartedly into the heritage menswear market with the launch of its new # B O L D collection. The collection comprises of newer premium versions of the classic Birkinstock Arizona and Boston. Storytelling within the campaign revolves around Takashi Okabe and James Otter – influential curators and craftsmen whose values align perfectly with that of the BIRKENSTOCK brand.

Takashi Okabe is the Director of London’s Clutch Café; which is the finest curation of “American casual style” in London, with a Japanese take on these styles. He is also part of the team that publishes definitive Japanese magazines CLUTCH, LIGHTNING and 2ND. “Style is all about being comfortable and happy about who you are,” he says. “When choosing a product, I think about what it will be like to wear in ten years’ time. These things are all about bringing happiness, and being authentic in who you are and what you do.”

James Otter is a master of woodwork, based in Cornwall; who crafts bespoke, hand-made surfboards from timber sourced from England’s West Country, using techniques that date back to the very earliest days of surfboard construction. The things he makes are infused with a deeply human character, which can only emerge through direct human touch. “I think that creating something by hand is what defines us as humans,” he says. “When you create something with your hands you leave something of yourself in the thing that you make. That makes a huge difference. And every time you paddle out with these boards you feel that humanity.”

Otter along with Birkenstocks have created a one-of-a-kind surfboard: a completely hand-made, all-wooden ‘eagle’, which is based on a legendary Californian design for the upcoming collection. Just like the BIRKENSTOCK brand, the ‘eagle’ design has ‘paddled against the flow’ of mainstream culture and defined an alternative aesthetic to the mass-produced, cookie cutter culture that surrounded it. As surf culture went mainstream in the 1980s, the original Eagle was everything the new scene was not.

The upcoming # B O L D reflects Birkinstock’s thos of function, quality and heritage; unlike the throwaway culture of fast fashion, which defines so much of the footwear industry all over the world.

The launch event on July 6 hosted by Takashi Okabe at London’s Clutch Café, which will be one of a limited array of retail partners for BIRKENSTOCK # B O L D will see James Otter talking about the creation of the board and discussing how important provenance and process are in creating truly special objects. The new styles will be available on BIRKENSTOCK.in, BIRKENSTOCK retail store at Select City Walk, Delhi and at Orion Mall, Bangalore

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