RIP, Hunter Boots
Published article here -
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-12219787/Why-Sloanes-gave-Hunter-wellies-boot-production-moved-China.html
Not many brands can lay claim to having dressed Kate Moss, Princess Diana and the Kardashians. Hunter, makers of the Wellington boots long loved by aristocrats and festival-goers alike, can. Yet despite this unique accolade, a few days ago the Edinburgh-based company announced they had gone into administration with debts of more than £100 million. Herein lies a cautionary tale for many a British heritage brand.
When The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook was published in 1980, it identified Hunter boots as the country footwear de rigueur for any self-respecting Sloane. Princess Diana confirmed this when she chose to be photographed in a pair for her pre-engagement pictures at Balmoral. Her choice was hardly a surprise; the Hunter boot had been the go-to of both farmers chasing wayward cattle and pearl-wearing grannies stomping around point-to-points long before 1981. Indeed, Prince Philip awarded Hunter a royal warrant in 1976. Their appeal? They were aspirational yet accessible — and their durability made them worth the three-figure price tag.
The company started life in 1856 as the North British Rubber Company. The boots’ longevity was ensured by a unique rubber dipping process that meant the inner rubberised sock remained leak-proof even after many years of wear. These weren’t just boots for toffs — they were too practical to be a mere cliché. Tenant farmer and landlord, kennelman and huntmaster — they all wore Hunters. King Charles was photographed in a pair in 2014, and Queen Camilla in 2008. And after Kate Moss so memorably wore them with a waistcoat and hotpants at Glastonbury in 2005, the fashion crowd was desperate to get in on the act.
Yet a closer look at Charles and Camilla’s Hunters says it all. They are not wearing the classic Hunter so beloved in the 1980s. They are wearing Hunter Argylls — the brand’s sturdier boot made in a heavier duty rubber, designed with working needs in mind. For in 2008, the brand chose to move production from Scotland to China — with many devotees claiming the quality of their boots then plummeted. While Hunter’s website states the boots are made using many of the original techniques, crucially, one technique not included in that ‘many’ is the rubber-dipping process mentioned before.
The result? Boots that many view as little different — bar that ‘Hunter’ label — from any you might find at your local Shoe Zone. One only needs to Google ‘Hunter boots quality’ to find forum upon forum full of disgruntled customers sharing pictures of cracked boot toes and peeling rubber. These aren’t the Hunters of old. And as a result, plenty of farmers, landowners and grandmothers wouldn’t be seen dead in them.
Sloanes now titter at those who wear Hunters, finding it rather amusing that clueless townies believe wearing them means they are successfully masquerading as a country dweller. Instead, the modern Sloane has replaced their own Hunters with Le Chameau, Dubarry and Penelope Chilvers. Le Chameaus are Prince William’s go-to, while Kate has been seen in boots from all three brands.
Rupert Murray celebrates his appointment as Harper & Queen’s Sloane Ranger of the Year, 1991
Why wasn’t the fashion market enough to keep Hunter buoyant? Well, even supermodels expect a certain level of durability when spending money on wellies. Though it is crucial that heritage brands move with the times, attracting new customers, the only way to do this is by refusing to compromise on quality.
So, if you’re searching for a new brand of wellies to showcase your country credentials, do as the late Queen always did. A pair of plain, unbranded gumboots will do nicely, thank you.
