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Rick Owens is collaborating with German shoe brand Birkenstock and to mark the occasion, Owens will be bringing the traveling Birkenstock pop-up shop, called The Box, to his Los Angeles storefront. Open from March 16, 2018 through March 20, the shop will also feature mainstay styles from Birkenstock's core line, as well as Rick Owens ready-to-wear, furniture, and accessories.
For the collection, Owens has given a high-fashion slant to three classic Birkenstock styles, reinterpreting them in four fabrications, including pony hair, army felt, and full-grain leather. The first of the limited-edition styles, unveiled today, features the classic Arizona sandal rendered in gunmetal leather and pony hair.
A staple of the norm-core fashion trend, which spearheaded comfort-driven and 'unfashionably fashionable' clothing, Birkenstock has seen more recognition in the fashion industry in recent years. After staging a showcase during Paris Fashion Week in June 2017, Birkenstock brought The Box to New York, Berlin, and Milan. Owens is the first designer the shoe brand has tapped for a collaboration on the retail space.
Much like Owens himself, the newest iteration of The Box is both industrial and organic, incorporating converted freight containers stacked on top of each other and retail design elements from the Rick Owens store in New York.
'We are beyond fashion but we're relevant to it as an iconic classic, a genuinely universal wardrobe staple,' Oliver Reichert, ceo of the footwear brand, said. 'The purpose of the Box project to show Birkenstocks in a new light.'
The Rick Owens x Birkenstock styles will be available for pre-order starting on March 1, 2018. The collection will launch at Rick Owens and Birkenstock stores and websites on March 15, 2018.
