Finding Common Ground Between Two Icons.

With a shared love of the outdoors and a commitment to making long-lasting, comfortable and versatile products, Blundstone and L.L.Bean came together for their first-ever collaboration—a limited-edition boot Refinery29 called one of fall’s defining gorpcore collaborations.

The challenge was to create a visual world that felt unmistakably true to both brands: two distinct histories, audiences and personalities brought together without either one disappearing into the other.

“Our limited-edition boot is as utilitarian and no-nonsense as it gets. It’s a modern reflection of what our consumers have come to know and love about our brands over 264 combined years of delivering products built to last.”

- Kate Shevack, Blundstone’s head of US marketing

Finding the Perfect Fit

We began by looking closely at each brand—its ethos, values, visual codes and audience—to understand where the two naturally intersected. Rather than invent a new identity for the collaboration, we looked for the truths they already shared. That common ground became the foundation for a visual language that could belong authentically to both.

From Common Ground to a Shared World

The outdoors became that common ground—not simply as a setting, but as a shared belief. For both brands, getting outside is less about conquering the wilderness than about what happens when you’re in it: connection with yourself, with other people, and with the world around you.

Photography translated that idea into a distinctly New England journey shared by friends: lighthouses, canoeing, small-town road trips, oyster shucking and hut-to-hut hiking. The product lived naturally within the experience rather than becoming the experience itself—reflecting the understated, utilitarian character both brands have built their reputations on.

Photography by Maaike Bernstrom · Styling by Nadia Eisa