Aries' ROA Hiker Is More Disco Than Outdoors
Brand: Aries x ROA
Model: Andreas Hiking Boot
Price: TBC
Release Date: October 3
Buy: Aries
Editor’s Notes: London imprint Aries has partnered with outdoor aficionados ROA for a Fall/Winter 2023 collaboration that sees the former present two takes on the latter’s archetypal Andreas hiking boot.
The capsule — which is a first between the pair — has Aries reinterpret ROA’s chunky hiker by adding an asymmetrical toe box which is highlighted with reflective taping and 3mm accents and laced with Aries’ signature flecked climbing cord.
The boot itself comes in two colors: all-black and a wild zebra “pony” skin, each with an original co-branded logo on the outer high-top collar and ROA features such as quick lacing external metal hooks, pull tab heel, rubber toe cap and a super-grippy Vibram megagrip toothed tread pattern sole.
Typical of any Aries release, a subtle irony lines the collection both in the choice of materials used — more disco than outdoors — and in the campaign shot by Kuba Ryniewicz who has become known for challenging traditional portraiture.
Shot in Newcastle, United Kingdom, the campaign looks at Britain's obsession with the outdoors and takes inspiration from movies such as Mike Leigh’s Nuts in May and Ben Wheatley’s Sightseers.
ROA is just the latest in a long list of labels to have teamed up with Aries this year including Juicy Couture, Clarks Originals, and, most recently, Crocs.
Still, with winter now fast approaching (in the United Kingdom, anyway), an Aries x ROA hiker collaboration couldn’t have arrived at a more convenient time.
