We are finally back with a new season of footwear, and Crockett & Jones A/W 2026 is a good one! This year’s collection takes inspiration from the Great American Outdoors, combining rugged materials and practical designs with the refined British shoemaking the brand is known for.
Crockett & Jones always does an amazing job with its seasonal photography, often tying the inspiration of the location directly into the models, leathers, and overall feel of the collection. This year’s Autumn/Winter campaign, The Great Outdoors – The North American Edition, might be one of my favorites yet.
I am admittedly biased.
Being from Seattle, I grew up with the great American outdoors quite literally in my backyard. Between Mount Rainier, Snoqualmie, the Cascades, and the wider Pacific Northwest, you have some of the most beautiful scenery in the world within a relatively short drive. For a long time, it almost felt like our little secret up there.
Crockett & Jones chose Yosemite National Park as the backdrop for its newest collection, and while Yosemite has its own very distinct Sierra Nevada landscape, the whole campaign immediately reminded me of the part of America I grew up around—and, in many ways, the type of environment I have chosen to return to now.
After years of city life, I find myself appreciating a more casual, relaxed way of dressing while still wanting the same quality and refinement I have always gravitated toward in footwear. Apparently Crockett & Jones had a similar thought this year.
The result is a collection that, to my eye, feels like rugged Americana interpreted through British shoemaking and refinement. That is really the story here.
You have the outdoor, practical nature of American footwear—the heavier soles, textured leathers, suede, workwear influences—but refined through the construction, proportions, and elegance Crockett & Jones is known for. And that is probably why I like it so much. It blends the two worlds I have pulling at me.
The Hickstead 4
The big news for me is the new Hickstead 4, Crockett & Jones’ latest Jodhpur boot. It is a beautiful boot and comes in two variations that show the two sides of this collection perfectly.
The dark brown rough-out suede is the more obviously rugged option. Crockett & Jones has done extremely well with rough-out suede in recent years, and it naturally fits the outdoor theme here.
Then you have the dark brown Scotch Grain, which gives you that same sturdy character while remaining considerably more polished. It is for someone who wants a rugged boot without necessarily looking rugged. That distinction matters as is precisely how I feel most days.
The Hickstead 4 is made on Crockett & Jones’ 394 last, which has a slightly fuller, rounder character than what I personally tend to gravitate toward. You know me—I usually prefer things a little more tapered. But here, I get it. The last suits the boot and the overall direction of the collection.
Putting a very sleek last underneath this style would probably defeat the purpose. It is essentially an English Jodhpur boot that has been given an American outdoor personality. And it works.
The Vail
The Vail is another new(ish) boot that caught my attention, particularly in the taupe reverse-butt suede. This might actually be one of the most interesting colors in the entire collection.
So much of the footwear market tends to play things incredibly safe when it comes to rugged shoes: dark brown suede, dark brown grain, black, perhaps some variation of tan, and then repeat.
The taupe Vail feels different without becoming too different. It has a lighter, almost tonal appearance with the suede, padded collar, and sole working together nicely. It gives you something with personality while still being very easy to wear. That is not always easy to accomplish. Especially in boots.
The design itself has more of an American work-boot influence, with the padded collar and apron-front Derby construction, but again Crockett & Jones manages to clean everything up enough that it never feels overly chunky or utilitarian.
It is fun, but still classic. That is probably the best way I can describe it.
Boston 2 – The Winter Loafer
Crockett & Jones has also continued developing its Boston 2 as a genuine winter loafer, this time in dark oak suede and black rough-out suede with lightweight rubber soles.
The Boston is already one of those loafers that needs very little introduction. It is one of Crockett & Jones’ signature models and one of those shoes that simply works.
What I like here is the idea of pushing the loafer further into colder-weather dressing.
People are wearing loafers almost year-round now anyway, especially as winters seem to become increasingly unpredictable depending on where you live. Put the Boston on a proper rubber sole and use something like rough-out suede, and suddenly the idea of a winter loafer makes complete sense.
I particularly like the black rough-out version. Black calf and even black grain can sometimes feel a little too polished when you are trying to dress very casually. Black rough-out suede changes that completely. Throw it on with jeans, a flannel or plaid shirt, and a jacket and it fits right into that American casual look without becoming sloppy.
And then, of course, you have dark brown suede. Anyone who has followed me for any amount of time already knows how I feel about dark brown suede. It might be one of the most versatile materials in footwear. Dress it up, dress it down, wear it with almost anything—it just works.
The Aspen
Lastly, we have the Aspen, a split-toe Derby boot offered in dark brown hatch grain and a waterproof dark brown leather.
The Aspen is actually a reimagining of Crockett & Jones’ old Wicklow boot from around a decade ago, but they have updated the design by incorporating the distinctive reverse peak-style “V” pattern seen on their Snowdon boot.
So rather than simply bringing an old model back, Crockett & Jones has taken elements from its own archive and blended them together into something that feels familiar but new. That is a great way to revisit heritage designs.
The result is exactly what you would expect from Crockett & Jones: a solid, handsome, extremely wearable boot that does not rely on novelty. It is simply good footwear for their classic customer.
British Shoemaking Meets Americana
One little detail from the campaign made me laugh: the vehicle in the photos has Washington license plates.
Naturally, being from Seattle, I immediately asked James at Crockett & Jones whether they had somehow ended up shooting in Washington. They had not.
Yosemite is obviously California, so I imagine either someone involved in the shoot came down from Washington or the vehicle simply happened to have Washington plates. Either way, it made the campaign feel strangely familiar to me.
The landscape is different, particularly the dramatic granite cliffs of Yosemite, but the feeling is not altogether dissimilar. Drive outside Seattle and into the mountains and forests of Washington and you quickly find yourself surrounded by that same sense of scale and wilderness.
And these days, living in North Idaho, that environment has become part of my everyday life again. Perhaps that is why this collection resonates with me more than some of Crockett & Jones’ previous seasonal releases.
I have traditionally shied away from a lot of Americana styling because it can become a little too rugged for my taste. Heavy boots, exaggerated proportions, oversized soles—that has never really been me.
I still want refinement. Crockett & Jones has managed to find the middle ground here.
You get the character, practicality, and outdoor influence of American footwear, but with the restraint and elegance of British shoemaking.
Rugged Americana with British finesse.
That is Crockett & Jones Autumn/Winter 2026 in a nutshell, and I think they have done a very good job with it.
I am particularly fond of the Hickstead 4 and that taupe Vail, but there really is not a bad addition here. It is a cohesive collection, the photography is beautiful, and most importantly, the shoes actually fit the story they are trying to tell.
Well done to Crockett & Jones, as always.
And I suspect many of you will be equally pleased with what they have created for this season.
Learn more here: https://us.crockettandjones.com/
—Justin FitzPatrick, The Shoe Snob
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