Oxford Draft…
As of late, contemporary fashion seems to be almost anything but contemporary. Anywhere you look, one can find evidence of how the latest trends spawned by simply reaching back and borrowing concepts and iconography from past trends. Thus proving the old “all things go in cycles” adage true, as the “last big thing” will inevitably return as the “next big thing”. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Since hindsight is 20/20 it’s only natural that the pioneers of tomorrow would look to the pioneers of the past for direction. And since we’re a civilization that is “always improving” (supposedly), and there are all kinds of laws/statutes prohibiting plagiarism and blatant copyright infringement, would-be designers (who may otherwise be lacking originality) have to come up with ways to tweak or improve past successes before they can be mass produced and shoved down our throats by the media as the big “It”.
Sure, some of these trends have shown a bit of range in the past few years. From brazen copycats of popular silhouettes (the Bape Sta), to slick reiterations with a touch of finesse (Gourmet and pretty much every Jordan), to recycling leftover components to form some sort of hybrid conglomeration (Yeezy’s, Spizikes).
It seems as if we’ve found yet another candidate to fill that “last, next big thing” spot. As the culture of the “fashion forward” society, from hypebeasts, to divas (and everyone else before, after and in-between who sincerely believes they have at least an ounce of individual style) seems to be shifting toward this “I live here, but wanna look like I’m from here” mantra, it’s apparent that preppy-yet-woodsy-themed gear is whats big on the horizon. Especially duck boots.
Up and coming brand Pome’ is the highlight here, along with their new line of signature “duck” boots. Now I’m no spring chicken, and I’ve never seen ducks wear boots – but if they did, they’d probably look like these.
The shoes take an all but subtle cue from L.L. Bean’s iconic Bean Boots (who probably found inspiration from another outdoors company). Not too much of a deviation was made as the models sport almost exactly the same build, and near identical tread patterns (but that could just be the standard duck boot pattern). However, where Pome’ starts to differentiate themselves is with visual aesthetics. L.L. Bean is – has been, and always will be – an outdoorsman company, favoring rugged, earthy material and natural hues. Whereas Pome’ is intended to target the city dwellers. Sporting a mash up of recognizable materials (such as the Timberland style nubuck) and an innovative color palette (Nike would be proud), Pome’ immediately asserts itself as “not your mommas rain boots”.
Surprisingly, even though they are obvioulsy marketed “against the grain” as far as demographics, the boots seem to hold up pretty well and actually show to have practical use. This is just the first drop in what is expected to be a good, long run, and if they keep this kind of quality and presentation up – and don’t get all Skittle’d on us – you can expect to see these guys around for years to come.
More pics after the jump…
