Timberland: Born from culture, worn by icons

“Timbs for my hooligans in Brooklyn.” This famous line from B.I.G's "Hypnotize" reflects a culture that transformed a single brand and a single shoe, the Timberland 6-inch boot, into a fashion icon. Today, it is indubitable that you haven't crossed paths with one of the iconic models from Timberland.

We wanted to ask our community about their experiences with Timberland icons and discuss culture, their own styling of Timberlands, and their encounters with an icon. Before diving into their responses, we need to understand how Timberland became the icon it is today. This takes us back to the early 90s, which defined modern fashion and style, specifically within the 90s Hip-Hop community. Mobb Deep prominently featured Timberlands on their ‘The Infamous’ album cover in 1994. Saying they were featured is an understatement; Timberlands were practically the album cover. Not long after, the notorious Wu-Tang Clan followed suit, with all 10 members sporting Timberlands. This started a chain reaction, making Timberlands a staple among trendsetters in the 90s. It wasn’t just a few; everyone from Method Man, RZA, Jay-Z, B.I.G, Tupac, and the entire Wu-Tang Clan was seen wearing Timberlands.

By now, you are probably wondering how Timberlands are still as relevant today as they were more than 30 years ago. In our conversation with Deavy Rosse, a Copenhagen-based stylist and influencer, he emphasizes one word: "inspiration." He states that he is inspired both by the 90’s hip-hop scene and the culture around it—the culture that Timberland was born from but today helps to communicate. Deavy even mentions artists like Tupac and B.I.G as big inspiration for his personal style. However, he also emphasizes that Timberlands are for everyone; it’s not just a cultural thing, it’s fashion. Dressed in baggy Criss jeans by Hope and an Ezra leather jacket by Won Hundred, as he states that he likes to wear Timberland with Baggy jeans as it fits his personal style.

In our conversation with the Danish-Italian Lia, who lives between Copenhagen and New York, she agrees with Deavy that Timberlands are for everyone. As Lia strongly puts it, her brother who lives in the suburbs rocks Timbs, her mom rocks Timbs, and Lia, who lives in the city center, rocks Timbs. “Timbs are made for everyone.” Lia also shares some of her tips on styling her Timberlands, the styling is in the mixture between masculine and feminine, as she states you can do anything with them, if they are styled right. Throughout our conversation, Lia was wearing a pair of baggy jeans for a more masculine look but paired them with an Oliva top from TG Botanical to show some skin and add a feminine aspect. Lia reveals one of her key styling tips: breaking up more masculine outfits by adding plenty of jewelry.

By now, we have introduced two of the most well-known nicknames that Timberland icons go by: ‘Timberland’ and ‘Timbs’. However, as with all icons, we each have our own way of interpreting and styling them. So, beware: they go by many names but can always be identified by their iconic status.

Head over to our Instagram to explore more conversation with our community about how they met their icon and to get some personal styling tips, as we also sat down with Collins and Cass for a chat.