Eastpak’s Clarks Collab Isn’t a Wallabee (But It Is Similar)
Brand: Eastpak x Clarks
Model: Torhill
Release Date: August 24
Price: $140
Buy: Clarks
Editor’s Notes: Clarks is having a big year. The label — not to be mistaken with Clarks Originals, the subsidiary that focuses on heritage styles — announced Martine Rose as its first creative director back in May and subsequently previewed the partnership’s first looks as a part of the British-Jamaican designer’s SS24 presentation during London Fashion Week.
Clearly big things are happening at Clarks in 2023, and its new collaboration with Eastpak, the Boston-based label renowned for its utilitarian cool backpacks, is further proof.
For this release, Eastpak has taken Clarks’ Torhill — a silhouette inspired by (and similar to) the Wallabee — and reimagined it through its epochal and quintessentially nineties lens.
Crafted using authentic Eastpak weather-proof canvas with a Strobel construction (the same fabric it uses for its bags), this new-look Torhill's robust design not only embraces the elements with a zip-up upper, but thanks to a molded and removable leather Contour Cushion footbed, it’s dead comfy too.
What’s more, instead of the crepe sole finish we’ve come to expect from any traditional Clarks, Eastpak’s Torhill is rounded out with a chunky outsole made from thermoplastic rubber.
“Our mission at Clarks is to empower everyone with the freedom to move comfortably,” said Tara McRae, Clarks’ CMO, following the announcement.
“To me, that’s the filter by which we put everything we do through. If it doesn’t ladder back up to that, it’s most likely not right for the brand. This is precisely why a collaboration with Eastpak was a natural fit. Our core values run parallel."
