For 2023, a trio of footwear’s serial collaborators in Clarks Originals, adidas Originals and Ronnie Fieg are uniting for something special, as foretold by a tweet from the KITH founder.
Fieg — who previously linked with both Clarks and adidas on a number of occasions —first revealed a handful of archetypal Clarks hang tags on March 16, each adorned with Clarks, adidas, and KITH logos.
That was all we knew about the KITH x Clarks x adidas shoe collab until the official confirmation came on March 17 but, that being said, it looks as if signs of the three-part collaboration were right in front of us the whole time.
We'll explain.
After taking a closer look at KITH’s recently-released Spring 2023 lookbook, you'll notice that there’s a handful of extremely on-trend adidas Sambas boasting an additional chunky crepe sole — a riff on the signature sole from the Clarks archive. Ta-da!
Presented in white, beige and black colorways throughout the KITH lookbook, the reworked Clarks x adidas Samba sneakers (or, 8th St by Ronnie Fieg for adidas & Clarks Originals Sambas, if you're proper) look basically identical to the original shoe, except that they're sitting atop a beefy rubber base.
It's worth noting that crepe soles aren't an entirely new vibe for adidas, with its new-look Stan Smith becoming the latest in a long line of crepe-infused mainline sneakers.
However, why go it alone when you can do refine your classic kicks with the kings of crepe (we're talking Clarks)?
Turns out the new adidas x Clarks x KITH shoes are part of the Ronnie Fieg's ongoing Clarks 8th Street project — hence, the Clarks x adidas shoe being called the "8th St. Samba."
Lined in leather and realized in classic colorways that riff on both adidas and Clarks' heritage, summer footwear doesn't get much better than this. You can always count on KITH to deliver.
Collaborations have been fashion’s “thing” for a number of years now. And why not? It’s a pretty simple concept. Take one brand’s popular X and another’s Y, merge them together and release a more expensive and even more popular Z. Easy peasy.
Three-way collaborations though? Not so common.
Thus, get ready to elbow your way past a line of sneakerheads when the adidas x Clarks x KITH Sambas drop on March 24 at KITH's website, app, and stores.
