Birkenstock launches the Highwood in a new immersive installation

Birkenstock has launched the new Highwood boot, an innovative winter iteration of the original Birkenstock sandal designed to survive all terrains, conditions and landscapes.

As part of the autumn/winter 2024 collection of closed footwear, the Highwood collection includes the Highwood Mid-Slip On Boot and the Highwood Low Lace. Both a marriage of elegance and practicality,  the Highwood Low is manufactured from smoothed oiled leather and available in three colourways: Black, Graphite and Habana Brown. The Highwood Mid Slip-On Boot features an outer premium leather and a microfibre lining, and comes in tones of Clay, Taupe, and Mocha. 

Serving as the perfect winter walk staple – swiftly replacing the essential Birkenstock summer sandal for a timely seasonal fit – not only does the Highboot’s sleek design boast high-fashion, but its design vows the highest of comfort as the seasons change. Both shoes share an insole of craft and intention: the Deep Blue Footbed. Made from natural cork, natural latex, jute and suede, these malleable elements provide the same functionalities and stabilities notorious of Birkenstocks, guaranteeing an unmatched walking experience. 

To coincide with the launch, a multisensory installation at its London creative residency space, Birkenstock Studio, showcased the Highboot encircled by a nature-themed installation and permeated by a calming soundscape. Spatial designer David Curtis-Ring, designed a wooden tree-like sculpture that echoed the tunes created by sound artist Justin Wiggan, whilst Berlin-based company, H.A.N.D.HIFI, provided a wooden speaker system to make the space an enclosure of serenity, satisfaction and stability. 

Justin Wiggan is a highly innovative sound artist known for his work on immersive sound installations and therapeutic soundscapes, and cleverly blends art, science, and wellness to create an emotional and physical room of relaxation. Translating the frequencies and impulses from plants into audio, the immersive soundscape during the launch was created using live recording of passing clouds, living plants and earth. 

Mimicking the sound of a foot touching the ground, it echoed the connection between human and nature, starting “high up in the clouds, dropping through the midheavens, bursts of wind resistance and wind speed sounds, until the sound goes down as the foot makes contact with the ground. The pressure pushes you down into the soil, the mass.” The clever blend between sound, natural elements, and walking boots showcased the beautiful juxtaposition between modern innovation and the evolutionary continuation of walking as nature intended. 

Rooted in German craftsmanship and a 250-year legacy, the brand is imbued in natural living, community and wellness. It boasts a community of individuals that share these values and places the “individual character that lives a valuable life” at the centre of its brand. Foot health is the foundation of Birkenstock, and the footbed, as VP Content House at Birkenstock, Torsten Haux, is at the beating heart of the brand.  

At its very core, the footbed is about human feet: the foundation of how humans are grounded in the world. Birkenstock places this at the very core of every shoe, becoming a celebration and commemoration of the biomechanical wonders of the human footbed. Simply, “when we walk as nature intended, we feel physically and emotionally secure because we are connected to the earth.”

Art design technology remains vital in Birkenstock’s stream of collections, and as David said: “Birkenstock continues to not only present a product, but presents a context for it. Design has an eternal impact on our mental and physical health, and when a brand comes from real integrity, this is where it has more agility to improve a customer’s lifestyle.”

Birkenstock remains committed to integrity in this new launch, urging one to embrace nature and to walk as nature intended us to do so: in comfort, in connection and in calmness.