Summer 2023 may be all about the white Western boot a là Swiftie fashion.
But another set of Western fans are thinking about how to wear the boot outside the confines of novelty, festival-focused environs.
Enter Partlow, a new luxury boot brand that aims to take the kitsch out of the cowboy boot by focusing on classic shapes and luxury details.
The brand, which launches today, comes from sisters Kasey Sample Lemkin and Lawren Sample. The Jackson, Miss.-bred, L.A.-based siblings have both worked in the industry for more than 20 years (Lemkin, a former model, was a merchandiser for brands such as James Perse and Theory, while Sample is a celebrity stylist). But it wasn’t until Lemkin’s move to Dallas a few years ago that the Southerners took note of an opportunity.
“We wanted them done in an elevated way,” Lemkin told FN ahead of the launch. “We saw them more in the view of a [with a] beautiful Saint Laurent suit or a Celine blouse. “That’s what we were wearing with them.”
The sisters were intent on making the boots in Italy and through their combined network found a factory in the Veneto region that also works with Saint Laurent and Tom Ford. Once there, they collaborated with a prominent last maker to create a shape that felt modern. “We wanted it to be a traditional Western boot but we wanted some of their Italian influence,” noted Lemkin, who points to a rounder toe, supple, vegetable-dye leathers and an exclusive multi-layered cushioning pad that was developed with the factory as markers of the brand’s nuanced shapes and details. A gold metal horseshoe detail on the back of the boots’ heels serve as Partlow’s signature.
The brand’s debut collection for fall ’23 launches today on its site and will follow with trunk shows in Dallas on September 20 and L.A. on September 27. Lemkin and Sample will also be hosting market appointments in New York next month, with the goal to expand to wholesale points of sale for the spring ’24 season.
Fall ’23 has six styles, which range from a distressed brown leather boot (the Julia, at $995) to a black suede cutout version with gold piping (the Rochelle, at $1,195). And while an emphasis on a classic, tailored look is driving the product, how to wear and style the boots for work and everyday wear was also an important task in developing Partlow (the brand’s name is taken from the sisters’ grandmother, Gigi Partlow).
Lemkin likens the Western boot revival to the modern trajectory of the fashion sneaker, which made its way from strictly gym to the office, everyday attire and even the red carpet over the past decade. “It became a new classification,” she said. “And that’s how we see the cowboy boot. Why can’t you wear it with everything? You should have a few pairs in your closet and be able to wear it several times a week.”
She also points to the boot as a new power shoe as more look to shift their post-pandemic style. “As a woman, when I put on a pair of cowboy boots, I feel confident and I feel powerful in them. It makes me feel good,” said Lemkin. “There’s confidence with a pair of cowboy boots — more so than heels.”
