Emily Ratajkowski Pays Homage to Y2K Music Video Style

When Emily Ratajkowski stepped out for a walk in NYC on Tuesday, she kept things fairly causal, opting to wear a black Thirty Years puffer jacket and a pair of jeans. The simplicity was welcomed, however, as it allowed for all the attention to remain on the most important part of the model’s outfit, her boots, which are steeped in both fashion and music history, as well as a sprinkle of controversy.

The model paired her jacket and jeans with a pair Timberland x Veneda Carter knee-high boots, laced from the pointed toe to the strip of brown leather at the top. The shoes are a direct callback to Manolo Blahnik’s Oklamod booties, which placed the Timberland aesthetic on stiletto heels when they were released in 2002. Quickly, the boots became hot ticket items, thanks in part to their co-sign from Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez. In Jay-Z’s 2003 song “Bonnie & Clyde” featuring Beyoncé, he even gave the shoes a shoutout, rapping, “I keep you workin' at Hermes, Birkin bag/Manolo Blahnik, Timbs, aviator lens.” In the music video for the track, that line is fittingly accompanied by a shot of Beyoncé in the boots.

Similarly, Lopez wore then in her music videos for “Jenny from the Block” and “All I Have,” solidifying them in early aughts pop culture history. Carter, who used to style Kim Kardashian, was a huge fan of the shoes, and actually put them on the reality star last year. At the time, Carter revealed her appreciation for the Manolo heels and Timberlands in general, telling Vogue she owned 12 pairs of the original style, but at the time was still looking for a pair of the Oklamods in her size. Of course, she got around that issue by designing a version of them herself.

Now, Carter’s line has some celebrity fans as well. There’s Ratajkowski, of course, but also Vogue contributing fashion editor-at-large, Gabriella Karefa-Johnson who has been seen sporting the style. Of course, not everyone is a fan of the boots, but at this point they have enough high profile support that it seems clear they’ll be sticking around.

Get a pair of the Veneda Carter x Timberlands for yourself:

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