Clarks is celebrating the legacy of its most storied silhouette, the Clarks Wallabee. April 26 is now officially Wallabee Day, and Clarks has tapped Wu-Tang Clan‘s legendary Wallabee-wearer Raekwon to front the campaign for the casual footwear imprint.
“We need to have a Wallabee day. We need to be able to go out there and say today is the day everybody throws their joints on,” Raekwon said in a statement.
Dave East threw on his Wallabees to unveil the first Wallabee Day collaboration; East rocks a custom pair of X-LARGE Wallabees, complete with custom fobs and tasseled laces. The shoes come in maple sued and black suede colorways, finished off with green detailing and blue detailing, respectively. Check ’em out above.
Why April 26? Rumor has it (per a press release) that on the date in 1971, customs teams at New York City’s John F. Kennedy Airport were readying cages to for the 4,176 wallabies about to arrive…
“We are delighted to announce the launch of our first Wallabee Day,” noted Clarks’ chief marketing and digital officer Tara McRae in a release. “It’s such an iconic shoe loved by people across the world and has served as a blank canvas to artists, creators and cultures over many generations. Wallabee Day allows us to celebrate not just the shoe, but also all of the collaborators who help us reinvent the story year after year.”
To celebrate Wallabee Day, Clarks will be rolling out a handful of collaborations and hosting a plethora of activations, customizations and the below social media challenge.
The holiday arrives after a major year for the Wallabee. In 2023 alone, Clarks tapped over 20 creators to put their own spin on the Wallabee silhouette including Salehe Bembury, sacai, Aries, Billionaire Boys Club, Stüssy, Vandy The Pink and Jorja Smith.
Thus far, 2024 has seen partnerships with Franck Pellegrino and SOPHNET.
Stay tuned to Hypebeast for more upcoming Wallabee Day collabs.
