Clarks is paying homage to Jamaican culture and its long-standing affiliation with the island with its new “Jamaica Pack” collection for spring ’21.
Featuring three of the brand’s most iconic silhouettes, the Desert Boot, Wallabee, and Desert Trek, each style comes in shades of yellow, green and black, representing the Caribbean island’s national flag, and feature the flag’s gold saltire emblem throughout. The premium suede styles also sit atop Clarks’ signature crepe sole and have soft, breathable leather linings.
Jamaicans have a long-standing history of loving Clarks. After making its way to Jamaica in the 1960s, the iconic Desert Boot was embraced by the Kingston Rude Boy culture of the same decade. As legend would have it, by the late ’60s, infamous Jamaican police enforcer, superintendent Joe Williams, was known to break up outdoor dance events regularly held in his jurisdiction on Kingston’s Spanish Town Road and divide people into groups of Clarks and non-Clarks wearers, so as to separate the rudeboys from everyone else.
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Moreover, when the brand launched the Wallabee in 1967 and the Desert Trek in 1971, both styles flew off shelves and could be seen on album covers of some of reggae’s most influential artists.
And throughout the ’70s, following a ban on foreign-made footwear across Jamaica, secret trade routes from Somerset to Kingston were formed to continue the import of Clarks shoes.
The British footwear brand has been a mainstay across the island ever since.
In addition, Clarks provided children from The Maverley Primary School in Kingston with a new pair of shoes as a part of its ongoing partnership with the institution.
Both colorways of the Desert Jamaica have already sold out on Clarks.co.uk; with the Jamaica Trek set to launch on the site soon. The entire pack will drop on Clarksusa.com and Clarks.eu over the course of April.
