Iconic Australian bootmaker R.M.Williams has collaborated with creative force Marc Newson.
The pair have launched The Yard Boot 365 - the first boots designed as part of the brand’s Undeniable Character platform.
The Yard Boot 365 has been developed as a future icon for R.M.Williams, with Newson’s interpretation of the classic Gardener Boot from The Yard Boot series.
Newson said he hoped the collaboration was seen as modern but in line with R.M.Williams' craftsmanship.
“As an Australian, I was thrilled to have been asked to design a boot for R.M. Williams, a brand that I have grown up with and have great appreciation for ever since I got my first pair of boots in my early teens.
"I have had the most fulfilling experience collaborating with this company and especially designing a product that I have always loved.
“The new Yard Boot 365 is a product which is I hope both modern yet communicates the values and craftsmanship of R.M.Williams.
"It is always very important for me to integrate the DNA associated with the brand I am working with and incorporate it in the design. It is not about re-inventing the wheel but respecting the DNA of the brand.
"There had to be a certain character, something about the new boot to make it different enough to appeal to a new audience as well as to the faithful.”
The Gardener Boot, first introduced by R.M.Williams in the late 1950s, was hailed as the ultimate hardwearing work boot at the time.
The boots were intended as the complete answer to “the combined effects of mud, water and sand” and specifically designed for the purpose of working in long grass, orchards, dairies, swampy or sandy conditions.
The Yard Boot 365 is designed for both men and women, drawing its name from the iconic Australian term, the ‘yard’, and 365 because of its intent to be a boot that’s able to be worn all year-round, no matter the conditions.
The boot is made from a single piece of leather, a fully engineered elastic gusset with R.M.Williams iconic tug, under foot comfort through the addition of Poron padding under full leather sock lining and a rubber outsole with a minimum 8mm depth in the tread.
The boots are available in six colours and three leather types.
R.M.Williams CMO Mathew Hayward said the boots, priced onwards at $445, had been developed and manufactured at the company's South Australian workshop.
"Marc’s design sensibility paired with R.M.Williams blend of rugged elegance has produced something incredible that we can’t wait to share with the world, our new future icon."