First Look: Martine Rose x Clarks Collaboration
photography by @roxy_lee
via martine rose
News on this release was first published May 24, 2023.
Update June 15, 2023: Following Martine Rose’s SS24 show at London Fashion Week, a suite of shots featuring the designer’s Clarks collaboration has surfaced. Take a first look at the collaborative Oxford and Loafer here and stay locked for release details.
In some of the biggest industry news of the year, have officially announced their very first guest creative director in the brand’s history. And they’ve selected none other than who has designed three pairs of shoes due to debut at her upcoming menswear show in June.
According to , Clarks had first approached Rose last year when she was invited to Clarks HQ in Somerset to gain insight into the Clarks lineage and shoemaking.
Clarks’ chief marketing and digital officer Tara McRae stated to WWD, ‘Martine was top of our list of guest creative directors to partner with, due to her unconventional approach to design and development and her British-Jamaican background, both of which are core to our brand.’
Rose told WWD, ‘Clarks is something that’s so intrinsic to British culture and obviously Jamaican culture because it’s huge in Jamaica because of the Commonwealth. There’s a couple of British brands that are really big in Jamaica because Britishness is a sign of quality, and you take it out of context, it takes on a life of its own, like a myth.’
Design details on the collaborative pairs – including a loafer, Oxford shoe and sandal – remain scarce at this time, but Rose has shared that the chosen colourways are black, oxblood and snakeskin. It has also been said that comfort has been a focus for Rose. As such, features of her collaboration include extra padding to the insoles and feather downs used in the shoes.
Stay locked for more information on the Martine Rose x Clarks collaboration.