Birkenstock 1774 Teams Up With Song for the Mute Marking Its First-Ever Australian Collaboration

Sydney-based streetwear label Song for the Mute is no stranger to collaboration. Its long-running partnership with Adidas Originals has built a loyal following, with sell-out drops that consistently generate hype.

Now the brand has teamed up with German footwear label Birkenstock as part of the shoemaker’s luxury 1774 line. The collection took Song for the Mute founders Melvin Tanaya and Lyna Ty three years to refine, though the idea had been even longer in the making. Before the collaboration became official, the duo were reworking Birkenstock styles for Song’s lookbooks, adding their own fabrics and even hand-painting pairs of shoes. It’s a full-circle moment.

“In 2011, for our first runway presentation, when we won the National Designer Award, we styled with Birkenstock,” Tanaya says. “It’s a brand that’s always been special to us.”

They’ve also been wearing Birkenstocks for years. “I’ve always worn the Arizonas and Lyna has been a fan of the Londons.”

The collection marks Birkenstock 1774’s first Australian collaboration. In the past, Birkenstock has worked with luxury designers like Manolo Blahnik, Dior, Valentino, Rick Owens and Jil Sander alongside streetwear labels Stussy, A Bathing Ape and Sacai.

Tanaya and Ty drew inspiration from one of Birkenstock’s earliest campaigns. “It showed people of all ages and from all industries wearing Birkenstock,” Tanaya says. “It showed how universal the brand was. It transcended past being a gendered or an aged brand – everyone could, and did, wear Birkenstock.”

Riffing on that idea, the collection revolves around four distinct characters: the artist, the rebel, the gardener and the collector – each representing the kind of person who would wear the range. The duo designed four reimagined Birkenstock silhouettes, one for each archetype.

The artist wears the London clog in paint-splattered beige sueded leather. For the rebel, it’s the Mary Jane-style Paris silhouette in textured black pony hair. The collector wears a polished black leather version of the Amsterdam, while the gardener slips into the Super Birki 2.0, a mustard-coloured rubber style with grass-printed insoles.

Each shoe features a custom, co-branded metal rivet – a first for Birkenstock, which has never made design changes in past collaborations. “The seal has never changed in Birkenstock’s entire 250-year history,” Tanaya says. “It was a subtle but unprecedented mark of our collaboration.”

There’s also a T-shirt to match each personality, plus a tight edit of tailored jumpsuits only available in Song for the Mute stores: an army green style adorned with Song’s signature crochet flowers, a pair of distressed denim overalls, a structured grey wool number and a short-sleeved black cotton boilersuit. 

The collab comes only a few weeks after Song released its new collection with Adidas Running, its first foray into runners and activewear. Who knows what’s next, but Tanaya and Ty are certainly not slowing down.

Shop the collection at Birkenstock and Song for the Mute.