BEAMS BOY & Clarks Prove the Wallabee Is Fashion's Slickest Shoe
Season: Fall/Winter 2021
Buy: BEAMS' website
Release Date: October
Price: ¥34,100 (approximately $310)
Editor's Notes: BEAMS BOY and Clarks go hard, as they say, with their collaborative take on the Wallabee boot.
Updating the Clarks Originals classic in women's sizing, BEAMS BOY — the brand's sub-label "made for women who love the strength and function found in men's fashion" — offers a sleek, timeless take on hip-hop's favorite shoe.
First introduced in 1967, the Wallabee entered the mainstream when, in the 90s, New York rappers including the Wu Tang Clan began wearing them in music videos and on the street. (Ghostface Killah even has a single called "Wallabee Champ.")
Since then, the moccasin shoe has been spotted on the well-heeled feet of Kanye West, Drake, Nas, and Pharrell.
The silhouette's influence on streetwear doesn't stop there. Over the years, Clarks has collaborated with a bevy of brands — including Aimé Leon Dore, Stüssy, and Wu Tang's very own Wu Wear — on limited-edition iterations of the Wallabee.
Despite Clarks' origins in the U.K. through Padmore & Barnes, its Wallabee is a quintessentially New York shoe. It's quietly luxurious, steadfastly functional enough for everyday wear. You can wear Wallabees to the bodega without looking ridiculous and you can wear them to dinner and still appear polished.
BEAMS BOY gives the shoe extra pizzazz with a beefy Vibram sole and waterproof GORE-TEX upper, bonuses that don't detract from the Wallabee's timeless appeal. These are recurring features in BEAMS' yearly Clarks collab, though BEAMS BOY's color choice — a deep navy accented with swappable laces in royal blue and teal — keeps the entire affair equally elegant, mirroring the quiet cool of BEAMS' other neutral-toned collaborative models.
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