Skyrat NYC Turns a $140 Timberland Into a $375 Mystery-Dipped Boot

Skyrat NYC, a footwear and apparel label started by skaters in 2018, has built its most recognizable product around a simple idea: take an authentic Timberland 6-inch waterproof boot and dip it, hang tags and lace tips included, in a rubberized color coat the brand calls the "Classic Donny Dip" (Skyrat, Tangerine Timbs product page).

Here's what Skyrat will not confirm: what the dip actually is. Product pages describe it only as "hand mixed," with the hue varying slightly pair to pair, and call the finish rubberized without naming latex, plastisol, or any other compound (Mint Timbs product page). That language puts it closer to the liquid-rubber coatings sneaker customizers have used for years than to a factory paint job, but it is an educated guess, not a confirmed ingredient list.

The colorways rotate like a candy aisle: Tangerine, Strawberry, Black Tar, Mint, Frostbite, Lilac, Hunter, Chrome, Candy Cane, and a two-tone Valentimbs drop, each over a wheat or black base (Timbs collection). Standard pairs run $375, specialty finishes hit $425, and a kids' "Mini Me" line brings the same dip down to $245. Every listing carries the same line: all sales final, since a customized boot cannot be returned or exchanged.

The brand is betting borrowed credibility beats manufactured hype, since Timberland's 6-inch has already spent three decades as New York's winter uniform (Highsnobiety: How the Timberland Boot Became an Icon of Hip-Hop Style). Recoloring an icon costs less than inventing one, and the only thing missing is a straight answer on what is actually in the bucket.

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Source: Skyrat NYC

Kyle Duford, Founder & Editor, BRNDWIRE. More from Kyle →