When we started working with Clarks Shoes in 2023, we came onto the project thinking we already knew a fair bit about this iconic shoe brand.
We knew that Clarks Shoes are synonymous with Back-to-School campaigns.
We knew that when you mention Clarks to any Brit, they’ll instantly share memories of having their feet measured with the patented fitting gauge.
And we knew that Clarks Originals have a global cult-following status, from Japan to Jamaica.
Turns out though that was just the tip of the iceberg. The more we worked with Clarks, the more we learned about them, which in-turn only increased our appreciation for them.
Clarks is 200 years old, founded in the UK in 1825 by brothers, Cyrus and James Clark.
It all started at Cyrus' tannery in Somerset, when James collected a bunch of sheepskin off-cuts, stitched them together, and fashioned a slipper-shoe. Seeing its commercial potential, the brothers shifted their focus from the tannery, and pivoted to shoe production.
Clarks is one of the world's oldest shoe manufacturers, and no brand accidentally reaches the 200 year mark. It takes ingenuity and nouse to keep inventing and innovating.
During WWII, family member, Nathan Clark, returned to England from his post in Burma. While he was there, he'd been unimpressed by the standard military boot the UK Army issued to soldiers. On returning home, he designed the 'Chukka' boot, an alternative option for the soldiers.
Due to its sturdy construction and comfortable fit, it quickly rose in popularity, amongst soldiers and civilians alike. Capitalising on its success, Clarks refined the boot's design, and created the ubiquitous 'Desert Boot'.
When Clarks started their production of the sheepskin slippers in the 1800s, it was out of their factory in the Somerset village of Street. To this day, they're still there, and it's still a family affair. To date, five generations of Clarks have worked within the business.
With our work on the Clarks store concept, it was critical to create a design direction that incorporated Clarks' historic past, and its vision for the future.
Clarks' long and rich history became a valuable resource for us to draw inspiration from. Identifying its unique brand DNA, we could feature those elements in the design.
Shifting to the customer's point of view, we researched design trends that resonated with them. Layering in current fashion trends and retail design forecasts, we ensured the store design instantly appealing, and future-proofed.
The result is a design concept that earnestly tells the Clarks' story, within a contemporary setting - to its current customers, and the generations to come.
The gravity of being invited to work with this iconic brand did not pass us by unnoticed. We had to make sure what we delivered went towards fortifying Clarks Shoes for the next 200 years.