Monty Don, the presenter of BBC's Gardeners' World, has unveiled a trainer collaboration with sportswear brand New Balance, days after announcing he is stepping down from the programme he has hosted for almost 23 years.
The 71-year-old gardener said the £250 trainers, created with London jewellery label Bleue Burnham, are inspired by "wild gardens" and offer a fresh interpretation of New Balance's Made in UK 991v1 style.
The design draws its inspiration from the flower beds of New Balance's own employee garden, the Flimby Garden in Cumbria. The garden has been created as a restorative environment where staff can step away from the production floor and spend time immersed in nature.
Wild garden stitch design
According to the brand, the trainer's precisely constructed lines are joined by a free-flowing "wild garden" stitch, loosely inspired by the planting at Flimby. Each pattern is applied individually, meaning no two pairs of the shoe are quite the same.
Two versions of the trainer will be released. The first is a brown pigskin suede edition. A second pair, constructed from premium black leather, is due to follow in December.
New Balance is one of the world's best-known sportswear manufacturers, and its Made in UK range, produced at factories including Flimby, has built a following among sneaker collectors for its limited-run collaborations with designers and brands. The 991v1 is one of the line's most recognisable silhouettes.
How to buy the trainers
The trainer will launch exclusively to New Balance's mailing list on September 12 at 12pm BST (GMT+1) via Bleue Burnham's website, bleueburnham.com.
Monty Don's exit from Gardeners' World
It was less than six months ago that Don spoke of his hopes of signing a new contract that would keep him hosting Gardeners' World until 2028. It came as a surprise to fans, then, when he announced on Tuesday that he was leaving the programme he has fronted for almost 23 years.
Speaking from the garden at his Longmeadow home in Herefordshire, with his dog Ned in his lap, Don told followers that "now is the right time for a change."
Gardeners' World has been broadcast by the BBC since 1968 and is one of the corporation's longest-running factual programmes. Don has presented the show from Longmeadow, where he has developed the garden on screen, since taking over as its main host.
What Monty Don said about retirement
As recently as March, Don had insisted he could not imagine retiring, telling Saga Magazine: "I hope I'm continuing, but as I come up to the end of every contract, I seriously consider how it fits the rest of my life. Each time, it's come down fairly and squarely that I'd like to continue."
He added: "But there will come a time when either they'll say, 'No, thanks' or I'll say, 'It's time for a change,' but neither of us, as far as I know, has reached that point yet. I genuinely don't know what retirement would look like. I don't play golf or tennis, and I can't see myself doing the crossword all day... I like work."
