From Somerset to the world: how the Clarks Brand was born
From hand-sewn slippers to contemporary collections: the journey of a brand that has focused on comfort, durability, and quality.
Clarks
Clarks is one of those brands that seems to have always existed: you'll find it in European city windows, in children's shops, on 1970s reggae playlists, and even in the stories of those who had "their favorite Clarks" at school for special occasions. Yet the story of this brand begins in a specific place and at a specific time: Street, a small village in Somerset, England, in 1825, when Cyrus Clark started a small business working with leather and producing sheepskin rugs. The idea that would give birth to the company as we know it came shortly thereafter, when his brother James decided to use carpet scraps to sew soft slippers: an act of reuse that today we would call a circular economy, but which back then was above all artisanal common sense.
During the 19th century, the Clark family realized that shoemaking could become a stable profession. The founders were of Quaker origin, raised in an environment that valued hard work, sobriety, and social responsibility. This explains why Clarks built a reputation from the start as a "fair" company, offering honest products suitable for everyday life. At the end of the century, the company introduced more modern production methods, and in the early 1900s, a revolutionary innovation arrived: precise foot measurement to offer more comfortable, truly made-to-measure shoes for children. This attention to fit, which we take for granted today, is one of the reasons why so many people associate Clarks with "the right shoes," not just beautiful ones.
The real image shift, however, came after World War II, thanks to a family member destined to become legendary: Nathan Clark. An officer in the British Army during World War II, Nathan noticed a simple boot in North Africa, with a crepe sole and suede upper, used by the military because it was comfortable and durable. Upon returning to England, he proposed producing it: thus, in 1950, the Desert Boot was born, still considered the brand's most iconic model. It is a hybrid shoe, neither formal nor sporty, which can be worn with jeans, chinos, or even a casual suit. Its secret lies precisely in its simplicity: a clean shape, no superfluous embellishments, and sturdy materials. It's no surprise that the Desert Boot quickly became a symbol of relaxed British style.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Clarks continued to experiment and launched another model destined to make its mark: the Wallabee, a shoe inspired by moccasin construction, with visible stitching and a crepe sole, produced for a long time in Ireland and later in other factories. It is comfortable, has a handmade feel, and over time has been adopted by a wide range of audiences: from British students to Jamaican artists, to American hip hop and some TV series that repurpose it as a symbol of authenticity. The connection to Jamaica and rude boy culture, chronicled in studies and books on the subject, helps give Clarks a pop culture that transcends the urban shoe. It's rare for a brand born in an English village to become a style icon on another island thousands of miles away, but with Clarks, it happened.
On an industrial level, the company grew in the late 20th century, opening offices in London and then expanding abroad. Production, originally entirely British, was gradually relocated, and today many Clarks shoes are made by external suppliers, especially in Asia, while the historic headquarters remains in Street, Somerset, where the operational heart and a rich company archive are still located. This evolution is common to many European footwear companies, but in the case of Clarks, there is a clear effort to maintain consistency in design and quality, so that a Desert Boot today is still recognizable as a direct descendant of the 1950 model. This narrative of its origins and work on the fit is clearly reflected on the official website.
In recent years, the brand's history has added a new chapter: the influx of Asian capital and a more international ownership structure, with the majority now held by the Viva Goods group and the Clark family still holding a significant stake. This has allowed the brand to strengthen its retail network and invest in global communications, while maintaining its 200-year-old British identity.
To celebrate this milestone, the Shoemakers Museum was inaugurated in Street in 2025. This exhibition showcases historic models, work tools, and archive materials, chronicling the brand's evolution from a small slipper business to a recognized name in Europe, America, and Asia. It's a tangible way to reaffirm that behind a seemingly simple shoe lies a chain of shoes. Industrial, cultural, and even social influences spanning two centuries.
Today, Clarks thrives on this dual spirit: on the one hand, its British functionality, made of clean uppers, soft leathers, crepe soles, and natural colors; on the other, its ability to consistently become the hallmark of a subculture or a generation. It's the same reason its shoes work equally well in a sustainable fashion context, where product durability matters more than the latest trend, as in an urban setting, where they convey a sense of belonging. And it's also why, when discussing enduring brands, Clarks is always cited alongside the other great names in British footwear: because it has remained faithful to its original idea of ​​making functional shoes, yet has managed to make them desirable.