Popular German shoe brand Birkenstock launched its limited-edition shoe collection with Central Saint Martins students. The collection includes four rare Birkenstock sandals designed by four students from CSM’s MA Fashion course, and one archival Birkenstock style re-released by the brand for the first time.
In 2018, Central Saint Martins and Birkenstock collaborated on a two-year project with the BA Fashion History & Theory and MA Fashion courses to expand the brand’s archive and create four new Birkenstock styles. Ten finalists from the MA Fashion course were selected by a panel of 12 industry experts – including Sarah Mower and CSM alumni Mary Katrantzou and Roksanda Ilinčić – to work on the Birkenstock x Central Saint Martins collection, of which four student designs qualified for production.
“Experiencing the challenge to realise the product innovation delivered by these students is a good challenge. We are proud to have a proven impact on these early careers and are counting this as one of our most relevant projects,” Birkenstock CEO Oliver Reichert said in a press statement.
The collection includes the Rotterdam Moto Boot by CSM graduate Alex Wolfe (£350); the Cosy style by CSM graduate Dingyun Zhang (£370), inspired by the comfort of a puffer jacket; the Terra style by CSM graduate Saskia Lenaerts (£400), inspired by the classic Milano sandal; the Bukarest style by CSM student Alecsander Rothschild (£450); and a reissue of the Tallahassee style (£250) that launched in the 1990s.
Keep reading ahead to shop the full collection or head over to the collection’s web page for more details.