Brand: Kowga x Clarks Originals
Model: Wallabee
Release Date: November 15
Price: ¥28,000 ($245)
Buy: Kowga
Editor’s Notes: For as long as I can remember, I've been complaining about brands trying to make shoes exclusively for women, rather than just extending the size run.
For some reason, women's exclusives are always just a lot worse than the men's releases, but Kowga x Clarks Originals is an exception.
The classic Wallabee silhouette has taken its time to break through the women's market but has seen a boom across menswear through collaborations with Supreme, Aimé Leon Dore, KITH, and so on. They've become a go-to shoe for the cool kids.
Teaming up with Japanese label Kowga, Clarks Originals has tackled the silhouette from a womenswear lens, dressing the suede upper in three colorways: "Black," "Maple," and "Berry." Keeping the shoe's original design cues, Kowga has added minimal logo branding across the side, as well as decked out the toe with embroidered heart and dollar-sign symbols.
The best part? The shoes are optimized for tiny feet! The collaboration only arrives in sizes UK 4 through UK 6. Yes, it might not be size-inclusive, but neither are most of the men's drops we've seen this year.
In addition, Kowga is also a small Tokyo-based women's brand, and the collaboration is a massive growth opportunity.
Sadly, the collab has already sold out, which shows that clearly there's a massive opportunity for Clarks Originals to grow within the womenswear market. The demand is there, so why aren't we seeing more cool collaborations? Come on, Clarks, you can do it!
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