Behind UGG

UGG: How an Australian surfer boot became the world’s most iconic boot

There are shoes that have been misunderstood. For years, collectively, without anyone really asking why. The UGG is one of them. In Germany, it is labeled as a winter shoe—warm, cozy, for gray days and thick socks. Yet, it actually comes from Australia. Not from the mountains, not from the snow. But from the beach.

The story actually begins long before the global hype. In the 1960s, Australian sheep farmers used the material for simple foot warmers, but its true birth took place in the seventies in Venice Beach. A young Australian surfer named Brian Smith brought a bag full of sheepskin boots to California. His target audience: like-minded people who emerged from the water after hours in the cold Pacific with numb, wet feet. They needed something that would immediately absorb moisture and restore their body temperature in an instant.

The name UGG itself is not a glamorous marketing term, but rather deeply rooted in Australian slang—an abbreviation for "ugly." In Australia, "Ugg boot" was long a generic term for these clunky shoes, which were seen more as practical tools than fashion accessories. But it was precisely this nonconformity and the connection to relaxed surf culture that turned them into an underdog symbol in the US, eventually making the leap from sandy beaches to the world's runways.

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Why he makes more sense in the summer than you might think

The fact that we primarily see UGGs in the snow today is actually a physical misconception. Double-faced sheepskin is a high-tech fiber provided by nature. It acts like a natural air conditioning system: the fibers allow air to circulate and keep feet comfortably cool at outside temperatures of up to 27°C. While synthetic shoes often turn into a “greenhouse” for the foot in summer, sheepskin absorbs moisture and wicks it away without the shoe feeling damp.

Ideally, UGGs should be worn barefoot in summer. Only then can the material fully unfold its effects and let the skin breathe. It is this specific feel—soft, dry, and temperature-regulating—that makes the shoe the perfect companion for cool summer evenings or long days at the beach when the sun goes down and the breeze picks up.

Then there is the aesthetic contrast. The UGG is soft, rounded, and lacks hard edges. It breaks up the elegance of summer outfits in a charming, almost nonchalant way.

What makes the UGG so interesting in styling is its contradiction. It looks as if it’s not trying—a look celebrated in fashion jargon as “effortless chic.” Combined with a simple summer dress in white or natural colors, it creates an outfit that looks as if it were put together by chance, which is precisely why it seems so modern.

Anyone who still thinks of the UGG purely as a winter shoe hasn't heard its story. And those who know it understand: the shoe belongs in the sand, in the salty sea air, and with the lightness of summer. Anyone wearing them in July isn't confused about the season; they are actually just returning to the boot’s roots.

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