London gets icy as SOREL lands in the British capital with a freezing-cold installation celebrating the heritage of its CARIBOU boot – good thing below-zero temperatures are no match for these beauties.
You might think we’re dialling up the Londonisms when we say SOREL boots were made for legends – but we’re being quite literal. Since 1962, the Canada-born brand has served as the stepping pads of people whose adventurous streak and courage know no bounds. Think explorer Ralph Plaisted, whose expedition became the first confirmed team to reach the North Pole at 90º, backed by his loyal crew and the brand’s signature Caribou boots as they crossed 500 miles of Arctic silence over 43 days in 1968. Or Ann Daniels, who set a similar record decades later, becoming the first woman to reach the North Pole from land – and yes, she did it in SOREL boots.
The brand also left its mark in the early days of snowboarding, becoming a byword for high performance on ice. Like so many iconic staples, it all started with necessity: SOREL and its legendary CARIBOU style were created at the Kaufman rubber factory in Kitchener, Ontario, built to shield Canadians from brutal winter conditions. Slowly, they infiltrated wardrobes worldwide, stepping far beyond the confines of winterwear and sportswear to cement themselves as the ultimate cold-weather boots. Their latest frontier? London’s Shoreditch.
This Thursday, SOREL and Ozone Coffee joined forces in the East End to give the British capital a taste of Arctic living, unveiling the brand’s Fall 25 collection and marking its boldest chapter yet. The debut follows two sold-out, now-iconic collaborations from the outerwear specialist – one with fellow nature lover and British staple Barbour, and another with streetwear renegades Aries. It’s the dawn of a new era.
Taking over the Shoreditch café, guests were greeted by a branded Land Rover Defender and invited to join a raffle in the pursuit of complimentary hot drinks, pastries and, naturally, pairs of the CARIBOU Horizon boot, plus a Land Rover Safari in the SOREL Defender. The Horizon style stands as the crown jewel of SOREL’s AW25 collection: an evolved iteration of the OG silhouette that blends rugged utility with a sleek, sculptural profile – lightweight, waterproof, and primed for snow-drenched treks or city living.
Not far from Ozone, the brand also transformed Brick Lane’s adjacent Braithwaite Street with a giant ice-cube installation. Passers-by stopped in their tracks as a glacial block revealed the Horizon Collection entombed like fossils, proof of their longevity and performance under biting temperatures.
It’s a fresh chapter of exploration for the Canada-born, Oregon-based brand – one that blends bold style with robust functionality, embracing its heritage like never before. The CARIBOU Horizon follows in generational footsteps, continuing its reign as an outerwear icon, now accompanied by a new wave of designs and collaborations that expand SOREL’s footprint far beyond Arctic-wear.
Read all about the Horizon Collection here.
