Chico Imrie
Chico Imrie stands for handcrafted boots shaped by experience, not trends.
At Burg & Schild, the connection to Julian Imrie runs deep. Kay, the founder of Burg & Schild, is a long-time boot aficionado, known for opening the Red Wing Shoe stores in Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich — introducing many to the world of quality footwear. He is also recognised for his extensive archive of vintage and historically significant boots and shoes, built over decades immersed in the world of heritage footwear.
When Kay and Julian met, it was less a collaboration and more a recognition of kindred spirits. Both share a deep respect for craftsmanship, history, and function, and are widely known and respected within the heritage-inspired fashion world. The exclusive styles developed together for Burg & Schild are a direct result of that shared foundation — shaped by experience rather than trend.
Behind the name Chico Imrie is Julian Imrie, a maker whose path into footwear is anything but conventional. Born in Great Britain and later working across the United States, his approach was shaped not only by traditional craft, but by years spent living and working in close-knit, hands-on communities. It was there that a deep respect for durability, function, and honest construction took hold.
Rather than following a formal training route, he learned by seeking out workshops, factories, and makers directly — from last makers in Northampton to heritage boot manufacturers across the United States. This hands-on education remains visible in his work today.
His early breakthrough came through collaborations with Double RL and Mister Freedom, where he developed original boot designs and materials — including the MF Road Champ. Working closely with tanneries such as Horween Leather Company, he helped create leathers designed to age and evolve with wear.
Imrie’s boots draw from early American and British workwear traditions — service boots, field boots, and industrial footwear from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Rather than reproductions, his designs reinterpret these references through his own lens, combining historical forms with a focus on fit, longevity, and natural movement.
Each pair begins with Julian hand-carving the last — the foundation of the boot’s shape and fit — and is refined through close collaboration with small, highly skilled workshops.
Production remains intentionally limited. Every step is guided by the same philosophy: to create boots that are functional, durable, and built with integrity.
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Kay’s Story
I’ve been involved with boots for a very long time. Before Burg & Schild, I opened the Red Wing stores in Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, and over the years I’ve built up a fairly extensive collection of vintage and historically important boots and shoes. It’s a subject I’ve spent a large part of my working life studying, so when I met Julian Imrie, there was immediately a lot for us to talk about.
Julian comes at footwear from a perspective I understand very well. He’s fascinated by the history, but he’s equally interested in why things were made the way they were: the shape of a last, the choice of leather, how a boot moves on the foot and what happens to it after years of wear. His knowledge comes from spending time with the people who actually make these things, from last makers in Northampton to traditional boot factories in the United States.
I think that’s one of the reasons we connected so naturally. We both have enormous respect for historical footwear, but neither of us is interested in history simply for the sake of nostalgia. The interesting part is taking that knowledge and using it to make something that works today.That shared understanding eventually developed into the exclusive Chico Imrie styles we’ve created for Burg & Schild. Working with Julian isn’t a case of choosing an existing boot and changing the colour. We can talk about the historical reference, the proportions, the last, the leather and how we actually want the finished boot to wear, and those conversations become part of the design itself.
For me, that’s what makes the relationship special. Julian has spent years developing his own understanding of traditional bootmaking, while I’ve spent years collecting, wearing and working with many of the original boots that inspire it. When those two perspectives come together, we can create something that respects where this kind of footwear came from without simply reproducing the past.