The ‘Remade in England’ designer teams up with the classic British footwear brand on Mongolia-inspired boots
When award-winning menswear designer Christopher Raeburn researched Clarks, his future collaboration partner, he discovered something that made an already promising partnership perfect. It appears that the first pair of Clarks shoes were made from off cuts from sheepskin rugs. This might just be an ethical bonus for you and me but for Raeburn it provided the sartorial synergy between the two brands he needed, for it to be more than just another catwalk collab. Raeburn has, famously, built his brand on the idea of reusing and remaking. Since day one he’s recycled existing fabrics into new garments, often with a strong army uniform connection.
Having premiered the Clarks collaboration back in June 2015, this was a follow up – the difficult ‘second album’ collection. But rather than just tweaking the boots shown for SS16, this season Raeburn looked towards new styles, such as the Trigenic-inspired Scale boot. Using the tough and demanding Mongolian climate as his source of inspiration, Raeburn and Clarks have come up with a capsule collection that will stand the test of time, and is also accomplished enough to take you from the concrete to the tundra.
What was the inspiration behind these three specific shoes?
The inspiration for the footwear is taken from Mongolia, one of the last truly wild places on earth. The harsh climate and rich culture of craftsmanship was a fitting inspiration for the Clarks x Christopher Raeburn collection.
Together we looked at Mongolian Mukluk boots and traditional Mongol riding boots and developed a number of signature details that work across the collection. Piping, layering, quilting, Mongolian pattern and stitch detailing have all been incorporated into the collection, and I’m super excited by the end result.
Did you base the shoes on pre-existing styles? One of them looks like a Trigenic…
The Trigenic Scale is absolutely at the heart of this collection. With its distinctive Trigenic sole and upper design taking inspiration from Mongolian leather armour, it’s a perfect example of how we’ve worked together on both the design and craftsmanship of the collection.
The Khulan Frost and Khulan Snow both take their inspiration from vintage military Mukluk. Khulan Frost features distinctive strapping detail, while both incorporate a geometric pattern inspired Mongolia. Each style also has a reversible in-sock with one side made from wool – perfect for cold weather. The other side is made from leather, which works for warmer days. Our inspiration came from the functional in-socks found inside military Muckluck boots, which could be removed and dried by the fire.
How does this feel as a continuation of the last collaboration?
This season, the collaboration with Clarks has really developed. What’s been so cool is now that the momentum has been growing in the relationship, we’ve worked with the Clarks designers to make sure of all the footwear complements our ready-to-wear. It’s been really fantastic to see that go down the catwalk, and for everything to be so complete is something I’m very proud of. I’m really pleased with how things are going and the reaction we’ve had!
