Fed up of wearing the same pair of Clarks Wallabees more than once a week? Daniëlle Cathari is too, so much so that the Amsterdam-based artist, who's known for her playful subversive takes on classic designs, has teamed up with the British footwear brand to drop seven (!!!) takes on the silhouette.
“I wanted to create seven unique colourways in my very own color palette, one for each day of the week,” she said of her Clarks collaboration, which is set to land on August 18.
"I’ve been a regular Wallabee-wearer for a long time. Aside from the silhouette being such an iconic and nostalgic shoe, its limitless versatility is also what draws me to it. It's not a full-on sneaker, yet it's not as formal as a dress shoe – it's right in between."
Cathari, who began her working life as a 16 year old making handcrafted bow ties and selling them via Tumblr, already boasts collaborations with the likes of Woolrich and adidas, from which she's garnered a loyal cult following and almost 100,000 Instagram followers in the process.
Typically, Cathari’s take on the Wallabee is unapologetically Cathari. Each style boasts a healthy balance of femininity and streetwear, all the while retaining the silhouette's epochal DNA. Reworked using a plethora of premium materials, Cathari’s Wallabees arrive in shades of Chocolate Brown, Deep Kelly Green, Dusty Pink, Pale Green, Chilli Red, Lavender, and Navy.
"All the colors truly resonate with me and the brand. They are quite present, yet soft and wearable. Not overly loud, but still very colorful," says Cathati. "Each shoe is subtly deconstructed by using both the front and back of Clarks’ iconic suede material – creating a subtle play with texture and asymmetry."
"I wanted to create my very own crayon color palette while playing with the idea of synesthesia," she continued. "The phenomenon where people associate a color with a particular day. It’s different for everyone, but somehow I find red fitting for Monday. Light green goes with Tuesday and purple is truly a color for Friday."
And, as if seven new colorways of the Wallabee wasn’t enough, each pair of Daniëlle Cathari x Clarks Wallabees also comes with a matching leather key holder inspired by the shoe’s archetypal fobs.
Of course, a collaboration isn’t anything new for the Clarks Wallabee, which has been the focal of a collaboration on countless occasions.
From Aimé Leon Dore and Stüssy to Vandy The Pink and Kurupt FM, the Wallabee has been a canvas for more labels than you can shake a crepe sole at.
Still, no matter how many times the Wallabee has been reworked, few have had the vigor and confidence of Daniëlle Cathari to drop seven colorways in one hit.
