Hunter Reverts to Kate Moss-Based Strategy

Kate Moss in Hunter boots at Glastonbury in 2005. Photo: Getty Images

Hunter has had two lives. The old British brand can be divided into BKM and AKM—Before Kate Moss and After Kate Moss. BKM, its rubber boots were stashed in mud rooms, worn by farmers, gardeners, old British fisherman, etc. But in 2005, Kate Moss wore a hunter green (hah!) pair to the Glastonbury music festival. She paired them with teeny tiny hot pants and a cute little vest and boom–every girl everywhere suddenly needed a pair to battle, well, sidewalks in the rain. Rubber wellies were officially fashionable.

A few years later, the brand brought on a new creative director, Alasdhair Willis (who happens to be Mr. Stella McCartney) and started staging real life shows during London Fashion Week. They were Burberry-like, focused on outerwear, and tech-savvy—partnerships with Instagram, Periscope—but at the end of the day, there’s only so much you can do with a rubber boot brand, which the brand’s new CEO gets. So out with the shows, WWD reports, and in with the music festivals. To “explore and amplify its authentic connection” to its customers, the brand will focus on opening new flagships and planning “multiple customer-facing moments planned globally for 2016.”

It’s a smart move, for sure, and one other brands could learn from. Last season marked a distinct turn in strategy for a handful of brands who realized that the traditional fashion week runway platform might not best serve their needs. From short films to livestreams to Instagram shows to guerilla presentations, fashion’s creatives are getting, well, creative. In this case, Hunter is turning to the thing that made it cool in the first place, and getting back to your roots is (almost) always a good idea.

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