Aigle

In 1853, American businessman Hiram Hutchinson took a license on Charles Goodyear's newly patented vulcanized-rubber process and moved to France to put it to use. He noticed that French farmers relied on wooden clogs that left their feet wet and muddy, so he adapted the silhouette of the Duke of Wellington's riding boot into a waterproof rubber version, cheap to produce and far more practical for fieldwork than clogs or leather. That boot became the foundation of Aigle, a name that has stayed in continuous production since, unusual longevity for a single-product idea from the mid-nineteenth century. The company built its manufacturing base at Ingrandes, near Chatellerault, where boots including the 'Bison' model have long been made by hand by workshop bootmakers rather than on a fully automated line. Aigle's range has since expanded into waterproof outerwear and hiking footwear, but the rubber boot, vulcanized and hand-finished in the same region for over 170 years, remains the product the house is built around, and Ingrandes remains its manufacturing home today.