This summer wedding was spurred by a new style of cowboy boot. Discover the history behind Lucchese’s “Giant Gator” boots.
When the design team at El Paso-based heritage boot maker Lucchese wanted to do something different with the alligator cowboy boot in 2015, they turned to American Tanning & Leather, the world’s oldest and largest alligator tannery. That’s what brought Christy Plott, the self-proclaimed “Queen of Gator” and a third-generation partner at AmTan, together with Trey Gilmore, the director of product development and men’s design at Lucchese: the so-called “giant gator” boot.
Alligator leather — typically considered an elegant and refined material — takes on a rugged vibe when it comes from a wild-caught, 12-foot behemoth, with tiles as big as a credit card and scars and markings that give it a distressed distinction. (The vast majority of alligator leather comes from farm-raised alligators, with smaller, ideally unblemished tiles, which AmTan also supplies to Lucchese; most giant skins are mainly reserved for furniture and large leather goods.) When Plott and Gilmore first met, their end game was to popularize a new style of cowboy boot using this extra-large leather.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Courtesy of Laura Grace Worthy with Feather and Fern Photography
“It changed the way we used alligator,” says Gilmore, a self-described exotic leather geek. “We’ve been doing cowboy boots in Texas for over 140 years now, and it was something our customers hadn’t seen before. And there’s been such a spike in Westernwear as a whole.”
While this look — a longstanding collection called, yes, “Giant Gator” — has become something of a trademark for Lucchese, it turns out the real end game for the pair was each other, and they wed in a West Texas-meets-Georgia wildflower-inspired celebration last June.
Both have a knack for style. At Lucchese Gilmore creates new designs using exotic leathers, intricate cut-out inlays, ornate overlays, hand-tooling, stitching, patterns, fits, and finishes, resulting in boots that have graced the feet of presidents and country music stars alike. At Georgia-based AmTan, Plott has partnered with luxury brands from Ralph Lauren to Oscar de la Renta, creating handbags and accessories that fetch as much as a car. Her work takes her from the swamps of Louisiana to the boardrooms of luxury fashion houses in Paris. She and Gilmore swap notes on styles, colors, and trends “nonstop.”
“We are both so passionate about our work,” Plott says. “We have a very unique understanding of each other. We’re so lucky to get to spend time together doing our jobs.”
PHOTOGRAPHY: Courtesy of Laura Grace Worthy with Feather and Fern Photography
The pair also bonded over wildlife conservation. Plott, whose job necessitates that she be dedicated to the ecological conservation of the alligator, serves as a wildlife policy trade consultant for the Louisiana Alligator Advisory Council to ensure the wild population thrives (which, with around 5 million roaming the southeastern United States, it does). “I’ve been a hunter and a conservationist all my life,” says Gilmore. “She shed more light to the detail of the history of the alligator, which has helped me when using the material in the designing boots. We really nerd out about the science stuff.”
True to their shared loved of the outdoors, Gilmore proposed at a deer stand at Plott’s family farm.
Cowboy boot royalty convened for the wedding at the place that brought them together: the Plott family tannery in Georgia. (The couple splits their time between Texas and Georgia; the bride took the groom’s name.) Guests ranged from alligator farmers to wildlife conservationists to fashion-industry execs. Lucchese team members crowded the dance floor with their suit pants tucked into their boots to show off the decorative shafts, scallops, welts, and pull straps. Of course, none were finer than the couple’s.
“We absolutely knew we were going to wear alligator cowboy boots,” says Plott. “And I knew Trey would make them so special. Everything else centered around them.”
Gilmore designed three pairs of custom alligator boots for the wedding — a hot pink pair featuring a heart for Plott for the rehearsal dinner, a floral white pearl pair for the bride for the wedding (for which Plott painstakingly custom-matched the finish color to her dress), and a matching navy blue metallic pair for himself. The pair donned beaver cowboy hats by Lucchese hand-shaped by Gilmore, and custom jewelry by Texas artisans (The Bad Bronc Studio for his cufflinks and ring; handmade sterling and turquoise earrings by Paige Wallace for the bridesmaids; Plott’s ring was made by Porter Lyons in New Orleans, who Plott knew for her alligator bone jewelry). The feast was a Texas and Georgia face-off — brisket and pulled pork, tacos, and fried chicken. In the end, the mashup was as classic as the alligator cowboy boot itself.
Does this partnership mean we’ll see new styles and patterns of alligator boots from Lucchese in the future? “We bounce ideas off of each other all the time,” says Gilmore. “I wouldn’t be surprised.”
Check out Lucchese's newest gator boot selection
This spring's his and hers boots from giant wild-caught alligator, the Lady and the General, $4,995
HEADER IMAGE: Courtesy of Mercedes Meranda
