Clarks Originals’ Wallabee is a unique creature, isn’t it? A shoe designed first and foremost for functionality and comfort soon transitioned into the realm of fashion and has since been a part of a uniform for a myriad of subcultures across the globe.
Don’t worry, this isn’t another deep-dive into the history of the best silhouette to have ever been made (I'm cooked with those), this is simply another nod of appreciation from yours truly to a shoe that’s been there and done it with, well, everyone.
In recent years, the Wallabee has found itself the focus of countless collaborations with everyone from Aimé Leon Dore, Supreme, and Stüssy, to Carhartt WIP, BAPE, and, of course, Wu-Tang Clan.
One label to have evaded Clarks’ grasp is Italian fashion house Moncler – that is until now, after its 2 MONCLER 1952 MAN line today revealed a five-piece collaboration which is available online now.
Delivering two fuzzy variations in the wool Wallabee Boot and three more subtle takes in the "MONWALLABEE", Moncler injects a dose of Italian pizzazz into a shoe that’s, at its core, 100% British.
The former, a wintry spin on the silhouette, comes equipped with alpine-inspired wool uppers, while the latter, which channels Moncler’s iconic puffer jackets, combines premium suede panels with quilted nylon vamps.
Laces? Yes, but not how you know them as Moncler opts for toggle fastening on each style, which sit besides Moncler-embossed fobs bearing “1952,” the year the brand was founded.
For a shoe to have been collaborated on so many times to still be reworked in new and innovative ways is a testament to both Clarks and the Wallabee itself, and, TBH, I’m here for more. Keep them coming.
