My equation for a good collaboration begins with me getting obsessed with something I wish existed, say a waxed cotton fishing jacket or 1970s-style polarized glasses. Then I find people expert at production and serious about design. Finally, we go back and forth until we get the best version of that thing.
Easy, right? Well not exactly. Because not many people have time and energy for that sort of digression. Besides, they’ve got to run their own business. But Viberg, the great Canadian boot and shoe company is different. Brett, the owner, likes to make new boots even if that means commissioning a craftsman to make a new last. If something isn’t quite right he wants to make it right.
A while back we made the Outsider, a more rough and tumble Chelsea-style boot that could go from the river bank to the fishing lodge. It was a great process—we made three or four different samples until we both were happy—and it turned out well. The run sold out in a few days. We wanted to do it again. So we did.
Meet the The Outsider II. This version is wider and more lightweight than the first. Easy on, easy to wear, easy off. As you can see it’s a lovely tan suede. This is a boot for those of us who already have quite a few pairs of boots. The sole is Lactae Hevea, a natural rubber compound made in France. It offers great support but doesn’t weigh you down. These are really well made, and, not to put too fine a point on it, they’re a commitment. But I think they’ll be something you can wear well for a decade or more.
After all, if you don’t love it why put it out into the world.
Photos by Spencer Wells, shot in Wisconsin.
I’m looking forward to the eventual bedroom slipper collab with Viberg, The Insider.
Nice material selection on this iteration. I have the lactae hevea soles on a pair of Rancourt boots and I love them. Very well done!