Polaris and Indian Motorcycle Debuts Red Wing Collaboration

Hot off its first appearance at musical festival South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, earlier this month, Polaris Industries has announced a collaboration between its Indian Motorcycle brand and Red Wing Shoes. The limited-edition collection, launching this July, includes two styles for men and one for women that are inspired by Indian’s history and designed with motorcycle riders in mind. The men’s “Worthington” pull-on boot is named for the street in Springfield, Mass., where Indian Motorcycles began full-scale production and is based on Red Wing Shoes’ classic “Engineer” style. The “Spirit Lake” men’s lace-up boot is dedicated to the workers who build Indian Motorcycles in its Spirit Lake, Iowa, factory, and is modeled after Red Wing’s popular “Iron Ranger.” The “Connelly” women’s pull-on style is named after Catherine Connelly of Owatonna, Minn., who was one of Indian’s earlier female riders, and is also based on Red Wing’s “Engineer” boot.

The two brands share a heritage of 100-plus years of American manufacturing as well as a Minnesota headquarters. (Indian Motorcycles was founded in 1901 and Red Wing was established in 1905; Polaris is based out of Medina, Minn., while Red Wing hails from Red Wing, Minn.) In other Indian Motorcycles news, the brand also recently announced a partnership with Jack Daniel’s whiskey, which included 150 limited-edition Indian motorcycles etched with “Bottles and Throttles Don’t Mix”—all of which sold out in a day when preorders opened on March 4.