Birkenstock celebrates 250 years of history with retrospective book, online encyclopedia and exhibition

To celebrate its 250-year heritage, comfort shoe brand Birkenstock is looking back at the story of a small workshop that became an international company.

The book, titled "The Book of Birkenstock," offers a visual retrospective of the company's evolution over the last two and a half centuries. While the book focuses on the brand's know-how, it does not forget to place it in a broader context, in connection with the cultural movements and events of its time.

The book includes a wide selection of archival documents and photographs, gathered in 688 pages, including the first sketches and advertisements and emblematic Birkenstock campaigns, as well as editorials produced around the world (Japan, United States, France, etc.) and personal photos of the brand's customers, wearing Birks on their feet.

The book was designed collaboratively, including the brand's contributions (in the creation), but also the design agency Bureau Borsche and the publishing house Göttingen, respectively responsible for the design and publication. It will be marketed in December, at a price of 75 euros, on the company's e-commerce site but also at selected retailers and in international bookstores.

To accompany the release of its book, Birkenstock is offering its customers the chance to discover its encyclopedia, in the form of a microsite that will also be launched in December. "This immersive platform allows you to navigate freely or chronologically through Birkenstock's visual archives, which include a selection of stories and more than 600 images, editorial content, VIP photos, film clips, drawings, product photos and advertising content," the brand explains in a press release. At the same time, it will inaugurate its "Walk This Way" exhibition open to the public. A collection of 140 photographs, signed by the artist Henry Leutwyler, will be exhibited in 25 cities, including Tokyo, Paris, Bali, Sao Paulo, Melbourne, London, Shanghai and Munich.

This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.FR, translated and edited to English.

It was translated using an AI tool called Gemini 1.5. .

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