Woven Boat Shoes? END. & Timberland Devise Dapper Summer Shoes
The boat shoe's redemption arc has been monumental. I’d have turned my nose up at any mention of the preppy moccasin five years ago, haunted by pictures of frat boys wearing them with white skinny trousers. And now, I’m the proud owner of a pair of boat shoes and swooning over END. and Timberland's new collaboration.
That’s the way that trends work though. Even if, like me, you think you’re relatively immune to fashion fads, there’s no escaping them.
The latest boat shoe to catch my eye, the END x Timberland 3 Eye Boat Shoe, takes the Ivy League staple and provides it with a Mediterranean-inspired makeover.
The shoe’s defining feature is a woven upper added to the front toe portion. Offering some airflow on hot days spent swooning around the Italian Riviera (the specific strip of Mediterranean coastline that inspired these shoes) the woven upper makes this a summer-appropriate banger.
Further updates to the shoe include a soft suede upper which replaces the shoe’s typical smooth leather, metal hardware, and a contrasting orange leather lining.
Launching in two colorways (light brown and pastel green) the shoes release on June 21 for $215 via END — if you want a pair, hurry: the draw is live now on the retailer’s website.
This collaboration follows hot on the heels of Timberland and BEAMS making boat shoes into rugged boots and the ballistic nylon collaboration with ACW last year — designers are getting experimental with the preppy style of shoes.
And when you also take into consideration the Our Legacy x Paraboot collaboration from a couple of months ago along with Fendi and Miu Miu putting boat shoes down the runway, it’s safe to say that boat shoes are back.
