German Craft, American Heritage & Italian Excellence (!) in Birkenstock x Filson (EXCLUSIVE)
Birkenstock brings the German craft, Filson the air of Americana. Together, they've created a collaborative footwear collection that's unlike anything you've ever seen from either Birkenstock or Filson before.
In a way, the results are... at least a little Italian. In a good way. I mean, the Birkenstock x Filson collection has this inexplicable dash of Italian sprezzatura, or elite effortlessness.
Just look at the sumptuous campaign shots, which juxtapose Birkenstock's humble German handiwork against Filson's west-coast outdoorsiness in photos that're so understatedly exquisite that they could've been produced for an Italian luxury label.
High praise but well-deserved if ya ask me.
The elegant Italiano vibes are so strong that the Birkenstock x Filson collection will only be available in-person on October 22 at Filson's Milan and Cortina stores. The Italian connection! Oh, and everyone else can shop it on Filson's website, the Birkenstock 1774 web store, and a handful of other top-tier Birkenstock stockists but, still.
"We wanted to create something original together," Filson creative director Alex Carleton tells Highsnobiety. "The project was driven by design and the excitement of new ideas and invention – combining elements that were unexpected in shape, form, and material. This is why the final result doesn't hit you with a direct reference — it's altogether new."
A twinge of Italian sophistication is further found in the actual footwear, which looks a little Birkenstock and a little Filson.
At the core of it all is the London Methow, a triumphantly plush leather shoe that's a hybrid of Birkenstock's signature London clog and Filson's rugged ethos, resulting in a pleasantly plump buckled leather slip-on that kinda recalls both Birkenstock's Reykjavik and the designs of Aurora Shoes.
As a longtime Birkenstock lover, I really dig how this thing amplifies the intentional primitivism of Birkenstock's slowmade shoes with the soft shape and grainy sole — I'd argue that this is one of the best collaborative Birks I've seen in a long time.
However, the other two Birkenstock x Filson designs are arguably even better, especially for the Filson-leaning folks. The Lahti is described in the press release as "a soft hunting boot" made tough by Filson's inimitable mackinaw wool and easy by a foldable upper.
The Skykomish, meanwhile, is made even more meaty by leather seams and a zippered shaft that makes the case for being the most outdoorsy Birkenstock ever.
It's all good stuff. Really good stuff, actually, amplified by especially strong styling and storytelling.
"There was a good amount of empathy from the start," Carleton explains. "Like, 'I see you.' There was a baseline understanding and respect for each other's history: the Birkenstock footbed, the toe shapes, their sense of engineering and ergonomics. Filson is about function, texture, tactility, and heritage materials like wax and wool. Filson colors."
All just goes to show that no one is beating Birkenstock for sheer leather shoe versatility.
This is a brand that swaps — with gusto, even — between Filson's trek 'tude to slick Japanese redesigns to real stylistic throwbacks to leather slippers envisioned by a former Nike designer. German, American, Italian, who cares? Birkenstock can do it all. And by the looks of it, so can Filson.
