The new American aesthetic of the Tommy x Timberland capsule

«If you look back at some of the most iconic pop culture images of the ‘90s», recounted Tommy Hilfiger «[our] products were often paired with Timberland boots». A whole series of influences that the new Tommy Hilfiger x Timberland capsule has captured by bringing together two fashion icons of those years combining the New York hip-hop style with the preppy suggestions originated in the colleges of the Ivy Leage with the street cred of the Bronx and Harlem. A nostalgia for that casual-cool style of American high schools that is back in a big way in 2021 – a year in which, as an anonymous Twitter user wrote, «everybody dresses like the cool teenager they wanted to be in the 90s». And in those years the intuition of Hilfiger himself together with the utility appeal of Timberland created a unique mixture: «Culture shaped our brands», continued Hilfiger, «and in turn we shaped the fashion landscape of the time». A heritage that this year, on the basis of the wave of nostalgia for American style that began with the Met Gala, has come back to life with the dialogue of the two brands or, as Lee Holman, Chief Design Officer of Tommy Hilfiger, defined it, their «clash».

The word «clased» used by Hilfiger's chief designer officer it is perhaps more about the visual dynamism of the collection, of the «to the style and energy of the ‘90s streetwear» – because, as he himself pointed out, it was the consumers who brought the two brands together in those years. The new capsule therefore serves on the one hand to formalize this union and on the other to «celebrate and repurpose our shared heritage», as told by Christopher Raeburn, creative director of Timberland. Precisely for the latter, the creation of the capsule starting from the archives of the two historic brands was like an archaeological work: «going back to find these historic pieces and making sure they’re evolved, improved and made better for today’s consumer».

A double parallel story that can be summarized in the two most iconic items of the American repertoire redesigned in the capsule: for Lee Holman it is the varsity jacket that «draws from our preppy heritage paired with the much-loved full fleece Timberland outdoor comfort»; for Raeburn it's the classic Timberland boot «remixed with the Tommy Hilfiger DNA» that «Even without the logo, this boot screams Timberland and Tommy ». But as Hilfiger himself explains, «the power of collaboration is bringing the best each brand has to offer», and therefore the collaboration will consist of two chapters: the first, coming tomorrow, which focuses on celebrating the heritage of the two brands, thus recalling the past; and a second at the beginning of next month that will instead try to imagine a future made of eco-innovation and sustainable technologies.