Viberg x Division Road Collaboration
After four years, nine variations on the pattern, and the acquisition of three additional pieces of machinery, Brett Viberg's endeavor to create a perfected wholecut Chelsea boot came to fruition. For this week’s release, we wish to honor that development with our new dusty walnut Dark Brown Washed Horsehide Chelsea Boot as yet another collaboration with Viberg.
Guided by an historical and stylistic standpoint, we always begin with aesthetics. For the Chelsea Boot, we present the classic mod-era style of the 1960’s versus more contemporary renditions. Specifically designed for Viberg’s Chelsea, the 2050 Last is an elegant and slim lined riding boot shape that grips the foot throughout, maintaining a proper long-term fit and feel for a non-lace pattern. When sized properly snug, the expertly formed single piece “wholecut” leather upper adaptively molds to the foot for a honed fit with a tailored appearance. Using a vegetable tanned horsehide with a dense grain allows the leather to elegantly conform to the wearer’s foot shape with a sustained structure and durability. The washed and tumbled tannage furthers flexibility while enhancing the exceptional grain and texture of the horsehide's natural characteristics that are certain to patina and remain versatile for your refined ride-or-die style piece.
While we are always concerned with aesthetics, our consideration of how the piece will perform during the intended lifetime of the product (so as to truly age with grace and character) informs our approach to design. That fact, coupled with traditional Goodyear welted construction using an almost-extinct channeled insole, allows us to say with a certain confidence that Viberg x DR has produced one of the best and most considered wholecut Chelsea Boots out there.