by Blundstone is making colorful strides forward for Pride Month 2023, thanks to a revamped version of its signature boots.
The Tasmania-based footwear brand has reimagined its staple Chelsea boots with a colorful twist to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community for the month of June. The label’s resulting $215 version of its #2105 Chelsea boots features smooth black leather uppers with rounded toes, as well as the style’s signature shock-absorbing ridged rubber soles and rounded front and back pull tabs.
The style earns a colorful spin, however, from its detailing. The pair’s overlaid top-stitching is cast in ombré rainbow tones for a subtle pop of color across its counters, toes and shafts. Meanwhile, its stretchy elasticizes Chelsea side paneling is made over in vibrant rainbow stripes of red, orange, yellow, blue, green and purple, symbolizing the traditional rainbow-striped flag of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Blundstone’s Pride 2023 #2105 boots mark the brand’s second release of the product. The same boots were originally launched for Pride in 2021, where they were quickly deemed a “gay must-have” by PinkNews.
The brand’s new shoe does include a charitable twist, however. This year, the label’s shoe has been launched in partnership with Pinnacle Foundation — a charity that provides mentorship and educational scholarships to LGBTQIA+ Australian youth. The union follows the brand’s annual monetary donations to QUEER|ART — a nonprofit benefitting LGBTQIA+ artists — since 2021. Since 2020, Blundstone has also submitted monetary donations to the surfing collective Benny’s Club, which aims to create a surfing safe haven for POC and queer youth.
Blundstone is the latest brand to release a new product to commemorate Pride Month this year. In recent weeks, brands including Dr. Martens, Sanuk, Coach, Calvin Klein, Target, Sam Edelman, Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister and more have also released their own limited-edition capsule lines, collections and products to celebrate international LGBTQIA+ communities. Many have also partnered with various LGBTQIA+ charities and nonprofits for the occasion, including The Trevor Project, Hetrick-Martin Institute, Transgender Law Center, Human Rights Campaign Foundation and It Gets Better Project.
