During Milan Design Week the US brand celebrates the 50th anniversary of The Original Timberland® Boot, bringing a new installation to Triennale Milano. For the occasion, the shoe innovator and knit engineer Suzanne Oude Hengel, involved in the Future73 project together with Ferdi Alici director of OUCHHH and the Vice President and General Manager of Timberland EMEA Nina Flood, will take part.

2023 for Timberland will be a full year of celebrations that will celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Original Timberland Boot. Future73 opens the dance, a choral project that involved six visionaries from all over the world to reinterpret the brand icon par excellence, the Timberland&reg; Premium 6-Inch Boot . The creative team includes: Edison Chen, Hong Kong actor turned fashion designer and founder of streetwear and lifestyle brand CLOT; Samuel Ross, British fashion designer and founder of A-COLD-WALL*; Suzanne Oude Hengel, Dutch knitwear researcher and shoe innovator, and founder of Knit In Motion; Nina Chanel Abney, contemporary painter and artist born in Chicago, but living in New York; Humberto Leon, from Los Angeles, stylist, retailer, creative director and restaurateur; and Christopher Raeburn, British fashion designer and founder of his own responsible fashion label, RAEBURN.

The Future73 capsules will be released with seven releases during 2023 at some of the most influential retailers, as well as in flagship stores and on the <a href="https://www.timberland.it/?gclid=CjwKCAjw8-OhBhB5EiwADyoY1Un0OsDKLWttblaUd3AZfAS0Ex1yN6HUT-dPGcN4Xq18u9mLvZFkQRoCXNwQAvD_BwE&amp;gclsrc=aw.ds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">official Timberland website</a>. Each drop will be amplified with creative sessions curated by cultural innovators, hosted by Future73 collaborators, and designed to educate and inspire the next generation of visionaries. For Milan Design Week 2023, Timberland will bring together with Suzanne Oude Hengel, its capsule with a project and an installation at the <a href="https://www.lofficielitalia.com/arte/triennale-milano-giovanni-gastel-mostra-200-ritratti" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Milan Triennale</a> in collaboration with the OUCHHH Studio, leader and forerunner of new media in the field of "data painting," of data-driven sculpture, kinetic public art, immersive experiences, direction, art direction and the production of audiovisual performances on architectural facades. Made up of three different chapters, the installation opens with a mosaic of archive images of the Timberland Premium 6-Inch Boot; the second chapter consists of a model created thanks to Artificial Intelligence (AI) inspired by the knitting techniques of Oude Hengel; while the final chapter uses AI to create a unique work through the combination of data from Timberland and Oude Hengel.

NINA FLOOD

"I started in February and have already been involved in working on the new strategy for the next 50 years,"&nbsp;says Nina Flood, Vice President / General Manager of Timberland EMEA. At the moment she is focused on the 50th anniversary and on enhancing the brand's heritage, she talks about the Future73 project and the goals for the future. L'OFFICIEL: What is your earliest memory of Timberland? NINA FLOOD: Personally it is a brand that generates a great nostalgia inside me. My father worked outside and always chose the Original Timberland Boots - and when I was little - I enjoyed leaving my little toys or dolls inside his boots that he found every morning before wearing them to go to work. L'O: I read that you are an executive member of the VF European Inclusion Network. How important are inclusiveness and diversity issues? NF: It was one of the reasons that prompted me to join the team because it is super important, not only on the EMEA market, but globally. If you look at the brand, we got to this point thanks to the community itself and the subcultures that made Timberland Boots famous. I am very proud to be part of this team, we have a wide spectrum of consumers: students, workers, people from metropolitan cities, but also from the suburbs or the countryside, who belong to different religions, genders, ages, and unique backgrounds.

L'O: Sustainability is another important aspect and an issue at heart for Timberland&hellip; NF: The idea is to continue to lead and direct efforts in terms of environmental and social responsibility. One of the projects I'm very proud of is the Timberloop project which promotes circular design while also creating innovative models that are easy to dispose of and recycle. Also with our Future73 project we want to share these green values together with the creatives and Edison Chen, one of the selected talents, has incorporated natural and regenerated materials into his collection. It's also the first time we've made a circular version of our 6-Inch Boot. L'O: What are you working on at the moment? NF: Timberland was born with the aim of keeping workers dry and warm and for this reason we are recognized worldwide for our boots. Therefore, today combining the outdoors and life is very important, it is in our core strategy, and now we are focused on the 50th anniversary. We will come out this autumn with a docu-series that will talk about the innovation of our products and the cultural moments that have made our icons recognizable all over the world. It will be released in conjunction with some 50th-anniversary drops, activations and customizations. Furthermore, in the next 18 months we will be presenting new collections linked to the world of hiking because we want to reaffirm our relationship with the outdoors, another important aspect of our heritage.

L'O: During the Milan Design Week you will present the Future73 project together with Suzanne Oude Hengel and the installation by OUCHHH at the Milano Triennale. How did the collaboration come about? NF: For Future 73 we involved 6 creatives from different fields, some are artists and others are stylists and creatives who fully represent the connection with our community. Suzanne is Dutch and is a researcher and knit engineer she had also worked with us in the past and we at Timberland were interested in how she could replace our leather with knitwear and she brought us wonderful technical innovations, vibrant colors and a knitwear upper for the our Timberland&reg; Premium 6-inch Boot. AI has taken the Future73 project to another level! L'O: What are your goals for 2023? NF: Continue to push the strategy with a bold approach and use the 50th anniversary year to set a solid foundation for the next 50 years. We want our legacy to be an understanding of the craftsmanship and quality that we offer and will continue to offer. We would also like to extend our Apparel line by providing a head-to-toe look and this could definitely connect us even more with our customers, especially women.

SUZANNE OUDE HENGEL

"I worked for the first time with Timberland on the very first CONSTRUCT 10061 in 2018,"&nbsp;says Suzanne Oude Hengel shoe innovator and knit engineer involved for Timberland's Future73 project, "I remember that it was an extraordinary experience in which I and other innovators in the sector we had spent a week together creating incredible concepts in the old factory in the Dominican Republic. For CONSTRUCT, I created a few swatches of knit fabric that were used by everyone on the trip and it definitely brought an exciting new element to the brand. They certainly appreciated my creativity and thought I would contribute something new and very different from what Timberland is known for." L'OFFICIEL: And this time how did you combine your vision with Timberland for the Future73 Apparel and Boots capsule collection? SUZANNE OUDE HENGEL: We had a lot of freedom, so it was about narrowing down what I wanted to do for my Future73 capsule. My main thought throughout the entire process was, "Keep Timberland recognizable and do something completely unexpected." With this mindset, the two things I focused on were bold use of color and highlighting what makes knitting special. In footwear, both uppers are knitted as one piece with all features included. In the 6-Inch Boot we replaced the foam normally present in the collar with a thicker spacer. L'O: For the Milan Design Week you were involved in the OUCHHH installation at the Triennale Milano. What was it like bringing your work to such an important institution? SOH: It's surreal to be in such a special setting, it was an incredible experience. I'm thrilled to be able to showcase the Future73 collection and knitwear work in a whole new way.

L'O: By the way&hellip; besides being a shoe innovator you are also a knit engineer. What do you think is the potential of knitwear? SOH: It's unlimited, you can do a lot of things, from making products directly on the machine to creating 3D spacer fabrics. For many people, knitting is only used for collections, but knitwear is used in many other sectors such as in the automotive, medical, footwear and so on. Perceptions of what is, and what can be, are slowly changing and it excites me to think of all the amazing innovations that will come from the knitwear industry in the coming years. L'O: What was the most inspiring thing about this collaboration? SOH: In this project and in my personal practice, the manual work is always the most exciting and challenging part. For this collaboration I was fortunate enough to work with The SHED's footwear team at Timberland HQ in Stratham. The SHED is like an amusement park where you can bring all your ideas to life without having to wait for the prototypes to return from the factory. It was nice that the apparel team came to my studio in the Netherlands and had face-to-face workshops. L'O: How does your creative process work? SOH: Always start by trying to answer a question: "Can the machine do this?", "How can I knit this?". "Can I combine this functionality with that?". And that's where my research begins. I rarely sit down and sketch, I usually experiment with the camera and try out my ideas in real time. Knitting is all about finding the perfect balance between many elements, such as yarn, tension, scale, structure and colour. It's all about empirical work: once the samples start coming out of the machine, I build on the ones I like best.

L'O: What are the fundamental elements for the perfect shoe? SOH: It must always combine functionality and aesthetics, without sacrificing one for the other. For me form = function and I love shoes that are designed that way. For me, a good choice of colors is also important... L'O: What are your dreams for your career and your future? SOH: I would like to have my own research center and knitwear innovation hub, where I spend most of my time working next to the machines and exploring all my ideas. A space where other designers and brands could come to test innovative knitwear ideas. I would also like to continue studying and get a master's degree, maybe even a doctorate, but let's see what the future holds.

FERDI ALICI

"Six years ago, we had this passion for integrating artificial intelligence within the creative pipelines,"&nbsp;says Ferdi Alici, director of Studio OUCHHH, "But the first great satisfaction came in 2018 when we presented the first major project in Paris, it was POETICAL AI, an exhibition entirely oriented on AI at the Atelier des Lumi&egrave;res, the first digital museum in the city. It was so successful that it attracted a million people in 9 months." Involved in the installation at the Triennale Milano presented during Milan Design Week 2023 together with Timberland, Ferdi talks about the collaboration with Suzanne Oude Hengel and reflects on progress. 
 L'OFFICIEL: Studio OUCHHH boasts collaborations with globally recognized names such as NASA or Google. How did the collaboration with Timberland come about? FERDI ALICI: We were contacted with the aim of creating something impactful that revolved around the Future73 project. For the Salone del Mobile, we worked with Suzanne Oude Hengel who illustrated her creative process and her proposal of the Boot made with innovative knitwear techniques. We were lucky enough to rediscover the brand's archive and to celebrate the 50th anniversary we collected Timberland's historical data and images alongside images of the creative process of Suzanne's shoe. Our proposal is an immersive experience that allows people to discover artificial intelligence firsthand.

L'O: How did you use AI for the installation at the Triennale Milano? FA: We have created a kind of infinite tunnel built with data and images that retrace the 50-year Timberland archive, the AI creates a classification of images according to colors, shapes, pixels and so on... Then there is another tunnel linked to the archive of Suzanne's work translated into photographs and here too the AI carries out its cataloging. All of this is combined with an algorithm that carries out a survey between the pixels and the renderings of the new variants created by Suzanne. This process will be presented in a fluid way within an installation, a block positioned in the room, with a storytelling that is divided into 3 chapters. L'O: What is the inspiration behind the installation? FA: The starting point was Suzanne's work, her new knitwear designs have been inspirational for us because they somehow share our mindset. We used our skills trying to insert something new with AI. L'O: Since the '90s with relational art, art and technology have forged an indissoluble bond and many artists have based their artistic practice on experience with technology. Why do you think it's so important to include the audience? FA: For us, technology is not a proposal, but a tool. We try to include technology and creative art in a public space to develop new artistic media. But the vision is always driven by the idea that we try to carry forward with the already existing technology. Our goal is to support and combine the artistic vision of artists with technology without the need to create any competition or conflict. Naturally, to physically involve the public, space also plays a fundamental role. On an architectural level, we have created a custom-made installation to transport spectators into the immersive experience of Timberland using all possible means and figures of expertise. Our idea was to create some sort of impossible structure that would float in the air. L'O: From your point of view, what is the most stimulating thing about AI? FA: Artificial Intelligence has the potential to make people see what is invisible. This is the starting point, we want to show this unknown universe to people as a piece of art they can observe this hidden world made of data. They may seem like codes but with creativity all this takes on a different and poetic meaning that is experienced with experience.

Timberland Brings Future73 to Triennale Milano

Recommended posts for you

FILM & TV

What happened to the actors of "Gilmore Girls"?

Food

When chocolate becomes design: the collaboration between Palomas and India Mahdavi

FILM & TV

The fashion marathon for the "Wicked" promotional tour exceeds all our expectations

Around the World

The Spa at Mandarin Oriental Marrakech: an award-winning oasis for body and soul

Around the World

The St. Regis Al Mouj Muscat Resort: A Luxury Jewel in the Heart of Oman

Fashion

What do women's sweaters look like for winter 2024? 5 trends in 2 variations from the fas

Man

Callum Turner joins Louis Vuitton as the latest ambassador for the fashion house

Fashion

Velvet Dresses for Winter 2024: Trendy Ideas from the Fashion Shows