Close your eyes and picture an Engineered Garments x Clarks Originals collaboration. Got it? Does it look exactly like the new Desert Khan EG? Thought as much.
That, though, isn’t a bad thing. In fact, Engineered Garments’ first-ever Clarks Originals collaboration is the perfect predictable recipe: the right amount of Clarks fused with the ideal sprinkle of Engineered Garments.
For its first Clarks link up, Suzuki’s Engineered Garments has taken on the British label’s heritage Desert Khan silhouette: a shoe named after the Egyptian bazaar where the original Clarks desert boots were made.
Known for twisting canonical menswear garments, Daiki Suzuki’s EG has a knack for flipping and reimagining classic footwear styles having teamed up with the likes of Paraboot, Dr. Martens, and Vans for similar collaborations.
Equipped with a slew of Engineered Garments hallmarks like an asymmetric closure system and a handful of removable kilties, the new Desert Khan EG is a Suzuki-fied take on a Clarks shoe steeped in history.
Underfoot things have been updated too. Suzuki has opted for a contemporary and lightweight Vibram Morflex sole as opposed to Clarks’ traditional Crepe sole, which not only offers longer lasting comfort, but looks decent too.
Engineered Garments’ Clarks collaboration, releasing at Nepenthes NY on March 15, comes in three colorways: sand, brown, and black, three shades synonymous with Clarks footwear.
Put simply, Engineered Garments x Clarks is exactly what I expected: sleek-looking, traditional, yet wholly contemporary. And while being predictable with collaborations can often be considered a negative, when the result is this good, it can only be a positive.
