Timberland's Hand-painted & Crystal-Studded Boots Are Art
Italian rap megastar Sfera Ebbasta just dropped a limited-edition Timberland boot that proves the brand’s hip-hop roots stretch far beyond the Bronx.
Before strutting down Telfar runways or exploring the French Riviera with Jacquemus, Timberland strutted on hallowed hip-hop ground. In its early days, the boot was a staple of 1990s legends like Jay-Z, Nas, Mobb Deep, and The Notorious B.I.G., a quiet uniform for the East Coast.
Fast forward to now, and both hip-hop and Timberland are bigger than ever, with a reach that extends far beyond the boroughs.
That’s what crystallizes the Sfera Ebbasta x Timberland Limited Edition Boot. Hip-hop hasn’t just made it to Milan, it’s thriving there. One of the biggest names in Italian rap, a rapper with over 200 platinum records, gives the New York native an Italian facelift.
Each of the 403 pairs is hand-finished in cracked silver paint that gives the classic six-inch silhouette a worn metallic shine, like something dug up from the future. It turns a rugged work boot into a hand-painted one-of-one art piece.
A crystal-studded S€ logo tag hangs from the eyelet, while a brushed silver Timberland logo seals the collab’s flex appeal.
It’s a follow-up to the multi-platinum artist’s first Timberland partnership in 2023, which sold for wayyy above market price in the grey market. Designed in tribute to his hometown of Cinisello Balsamo, the boot channels the Milan trap scene that made him a star.
Available now on the artist’s e-commerce platform, this collab closes a different kind of cultural loop. From New York’s 1980s rap scene to Italy’s modern trap movement, Sfera’s cracked-silver boot reflects how far hip-hop has traveled and how deeply Timberland’s iconography has settled into pavements across the world.
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