When an editor is invited on a “press journey” — shorthand for a brand-sponsored, multi-day tour in a far-flung locale, the place they’re wined, dined, and proven a brand new product, initiative, or innovation in hopes of getting a narrative written about mentioned factor — the attendees are sometimes a gumbo of journalists who work for main media shops, freelance writers, and the ever-present crop of influencers, all jockeying to create the very best content material to allow them to go on extra journeys and get extra free gear.
So after I arrived on the Usal retailer on a sunny Friday morning in Los Angeles to catch a shuttle bus to Mammoth for a weekend of fly fishing, mountaineering and different revelry within the nice outside, all courtesy of the brand new Reese Cooper x UGG assortment, I used to be stunned to see that I used to be the only media member there, a journalistic lone wolf surrounded not by the same old smattering of my friends, however by 10 of Reese Cooper’s closest buddies.
Reese chuckled after I relayed the unconventional nature of the group to him the subsequent day. In any case, unconventional is the norm for a designer who’s garnered nice acclaim by tastefully creating the garments that he and his buddies wish to put on: a nuanced mix of heritage Americana and purposeful, but not-quite-gorpy out of doors gear by way of each his eponymous label and his Reese Cooper Out of doors Provide diffusion line.
“Most individuals who’ve a collaboration like this could wish to do some form of launch social gathering,” he says with a smile, leaning again in a camp chair whereas the towering mountains round Mammoth throw a shadow throughout his face. “For me, it’s extra like ‘let’s get the f*ck out of Los Angeles for a pair days and do one thing with a core group of buddies.”
Mike Phamuel
Mike Phamuel
Mike Phamuel
Mike Phamuel
After spending 48-odd hours with Reese, it was clear that he’s a supplier. That nature comes by way of not simply in his eagerness to carry buddies alongside for the trip, however in how he approaches design — purposeful, sensible, and wearable for every day life, however with sufficient sauce-providing particulars that his creations are by no means stale or simplistic. His eponymous model’s UGG collaboration, consisting of a trio of Cordura shroud-equipped Basic Mini boots and a duo of Basic Extremely Mini boots lined with GORE-TEX, was born of a easy but profound thought: making a chunk of UGG footwear that somebody with an energetic way of life may put on every single day.
Previous to the collaboration, Reese wasn’t an energetic UGG wearer. It wasn’t as a result of he didn’t just like the model. It’s as a result of he’s so robust on his personal sneakers. “Any time I get a brand new pair of sneakers, for no matter motive, they’re smoked inside six days,” he mentioned. “So I’d at all times be occupied with making a shoe that lasts, and I’d see loads of individuals in Los Angeles sporting UGGs that seemed like they wanted to be retired six months in the past.”
That commentary, together with a pair of UGG slippers that Reese’s girlfriend Juliet Johnstone purchased him as a Christmas current, bought the artistic wheels spinning. After conceptualizing a method to waterproof his private pair in order that they wouldn’t seem like they’d been by way of the proverbial meat grinder of every day life, kismet struck: UGG reached out to ask if he’d be focused on a collaboration.
“I mentioned sure so quick,” Reese recollected. “I already had the thought in thoughts as a result of I’d been making an attempt to do it, and now I had entry to the assets to do it at scale.”
Mike Phamuel/Keith Oshiro
Mike Phamuel/Keith Oshiro
Mike Phamuel/Keith Oshiro
Mike Phamuel/Keith Oshiro
The high-top boot was the primary pair to return to fruition, with its Cordura shell serving because the outer layer to a correct triple-layered piece of weather-resistant footwear. The innovation that the sturdy materials unlocked? A capability to put on the boot a number of methods: excessive with pants tucked in, pooled on the ankle with pants falling atop, cinched to maintain the weather out. The selection is completely the wearer’s, with none pre-existing imaginative and prescient imposed on them. “If we made a tall, three-layer, absolutely waterproof boot, it could eternally be that tall,” mentioned Reese. “A model the dimensions of UGG must make a product that works with lots of people, and although I’ve the posh of not having to try this with my very own label, it’s an pleasing problem to suppose greater when it comes to the market — and UGG was so open to my concepts for that market. There was no pushback from them, and loads of belief.”
As if to show some extent, shortly after Reese completed his thought, Romil Hemnani — a musician and good friend of Reese’s, finest identified for his work with BROCKHAMPTON — went clomping by in a pair of gigantic, Mossy Oak-printed Sky Excessive Farm Workwear x BOGS boots. “See, I really like boots like that, but it surely takes somebody like Rome to drag them off,” mentioned Reese, a broad, Cheshire Cat-style grin creeping throughout his face. “I needed to suppose past what simply my buddies and I’d put on and attempt to create one thing everybody would put on.”
Mike Phamuel/Keith Oshiro
Mike Phamuel/Keith Oshiro
As Reese sees it, the low-top, GORE-TEX boot was a pure extension of that inclusive ethos. It’s primarily indistinguishable from an in-line UGG Extremely Mini boot, save for its sturdier outer materials, taped seams, small GORE-TEX brand on the midfoot, and co-branded heel tag. “The beauty of UGG is that it’s at all times been in a position to cater to what’s cool within the current second with out altering its form and performance,” he says. “I evaluate an UGG boot to one thing just like the Levi’s 501, a product that’s been round for many years however stays largely unchanged in addition to being produced in no matter washes are en vogue within the current second.”
The general thought course of was expounded upon within the Reese Cooper x UGG marketing campaign, which exhibits Reese and his crew taking the collaboration out for a spin in rural Georgia. There’s a seaplane, a raft, and loads of shenanigans, a becoming setting for a designer who’s deeply educated however by no means pretentious.
“The aspirational message of most campaigns is so humorous to me,” Reese notes. “It’s at all times like ‘You generally is a top-performing athlete,’ or ‘in case you get this factor, you’re going to have f*cking adventures, man,’” he says. “I needed to flip {that a} bit and be like ‘hey, these are UGGs and now you will get them moist.’ It was that easy, and Adrian [Nieto, a photographer and director] did an unimaginable job of making certain that ethos, simple however with a bit little bit of silliness. It was about narrative and what you are able to do greater than the product itself.”
And it have to be mentioned: the Reese Cooper x UGG assortment is superb for, nicely, doing stuff. They held up marvelously mountaineering round Mammoth’s famed Convict Lake and through a trek by way of tall, dry grass to a famed fly fishing spot within the neighboring city of Bishop, in addition to chilling across the campfire having fun with some “Bron Juice.” The Basic Mini’s versatile shroud protects the wearer from the weather, however will be cinched low if its full high-top protection shouldn’t be wanted. The Extremely Mini will be the most unassuming GORE-TEX shoe available on the market at present — all of the purposeful tech you want sans the bells, whistles and technical thrives related to most sneakers that function the fabric. Although Cordura and GORE-TEX are undeniably superior supplies, in a means, the Reese Cooper x UGG assortment is a return to UGG’s founding precept: creating easy, heat sheepskin boots worn by surfers for heat and luxury.
“I at all times remind myself that out of doors gear doesn’t need to be that deep, as a result of, like, 95% of Arc’Teryx shell jackets are being worn to Entire Meals,” Reese quips. “It’s a must to design with the informal out of doors gear wearer in thoughts, so to me I attempt to make one thing that works for fairly actually being exterior, irrespective of the place you’re. That allows me to push issues a bit additional and get extra summary.”
And, on the finish of the day, the model’s viewers — each Reese’s internal circle and the surface neighborhood — function the ultimate decide of whether or not the collaboration passes muster. “I’ve gotten all these messages to the extent of ‘That is the primary pair of UGGs I’ve ever had,’ so I feel it’s mission completed,” Reese says.
He stands up from his camp chair. “Let’s go fly fishing, man.”
Mike Phamuel
The Reese Cooper x UGG assortment will launch by way of reese-cooper.com, ugg.com and choose retailers on April 11. The Basic Mini is priced at $250 USD, and the Extremely Mini at $200 USD.
