From logomania down to the reboot of Laguna Beach, the early 2000s are staging a comeback—but the era’s staple UGG boots have been here all along. In fact, this year marks the 40th anniversary of UGG and to celebrate, the brand tapped some of fashion’s coolest faces for a campaign that’s making us want to order a new pair again.
Model Adwoa Aboah and designer Heron Preston star in UGG’s anniversary campaign together—each bringing their own unique style to the iconic boot. The duo is the first amongst a lineup of new brand ambassadors that will be revealed throughout the month of October. And if you still picture Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie on a Kitson shopping spree when you hear the word ‘UGG,’ Aboah and Preston are about to change that, ushering in a new wave of the brand.
Along with the campaign, UGG also launched a 40th Anniversary collection, which includes a range of boots and slippers for men and women. The collection, priced from $120 – $295, is now available to shop on both UGG.com and Nordstrom.com.
BAZAAR.com spoke with Aboah and Preston ahead of their campaign launch their earliest UGG memories, what’s inspiring them in fashion right now, and more.
Do you have a memory of the first time you wore UGG?
Adwoah Aboah: Yes, but my sister will kill me! She had the Classic Chestnut pair of UGG boots and I used to steal them from her room before she woke up and wear them out!
Heron Preston: I remember I went to the UGG store in Soho with my girlfriend and I bought us matching UGG mini boots, I got the chestnut and I got her the black. I originally only intended to wear them in the house, but they were just so comfortable I couldn’t take them off! So from the house, I started wearing them in the street just to go grab something from the corner store. But then all of a sudden I started wearing them everywhere! I guess you could say it took some baby steps, but now I’m full blown rocking them everywhere I go.
What kind of vision did you want to bring to the UGG brand?
AA: I wanted to reflect my peers and I took inspiration from all of my friends and the girls from my Gurls Talk community, looking at how they express themselves with fashion. I love how everyone mixes different styles now and thought it would be great to mix in looks from the street with the UGG Classic boot.
HP: A new and refreshing look at how and who wear the boots. Offering a bit of edge and culture, new faces in the conversation. There are a bunch of cool kids that wear their boots but no one really gets to hear those stories because they are drowned out by past perceptions of the brand. The vision is to introduce new stories to the brand that feel in line with what I’ve been up to and who I connect with.
Do you have any styling tricks for wearing UGGs?
AA: With a cocktail dress, of course! [Laughs] Anything goes, they are worn best with a badass attitude and confidence.
HP: Honestly, let’s just start with wearing our pants over the boots instead of tucked in. That’s how I’ve always worn them and it took me seeing another guy wearing them like that to make me want a pair. His style was on point. There are some exceptions to this rule, like sweatpants, since they have elastic at the ankles its hard to pull off this code so it’s cool that they kind of sit at the top of the boots but NEVER tuck in!
What’s inspiring you in the fashion world at the moment?
AA: I’m so inspired by the huge diversity in fashion right now, it makes me so happy and hopeful for how our industry will continue to develop in the right direction. I love how brands can have a direct link to the consumer and I think this is one of the major causes for this amazing change.
HP: I’m excited that it feels like we’ve hit a point in the fashion industry where people aren’t so afraid to try new things and take chances and risks. I think the industry is a bit more open-minded for embracing change. Look at the work Rihanna is doing with her lingerie line. Or Virgil—who is a trained architect—but just became head designer at Louis Vuitton. And my friend Tommy Ton is a very well known and respected photographer, but he just designed his first collection. James Jebbia won the Men’s Fashion Designer of the Year award and in his acceptance speech he first started off clarifying to the audience that he’s not a fashion designer! Traditions are being broken and shaken up. There is no longer one lane to follow. People are creating their own lanes. This is very exciting and inspiring for me.
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