Jamaican Raheem Sterling Teams Up With Clarks To Sell Out 70th Anniversary Collection In 8 Minutes
Jamaicans have had a longstanding affinity with the British shoe brand, Clarks, for decades, and this association keeps on growing and evolving due to the island’s dancehall culture.
From Busy Signal’s Step Out, Vybz Kartel’s Clarks to Jahvillani’s Clarks Pon Foot, and even before any of the before mentioned artistes went mainstream, Jamaica and Clarks have had a good thing going.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the popular Clarks Desert Boot. Clarks has chosen to partner with A Bathing Ape (BAPE), a popular Japanese streetwear clothing brand. Together, the duo has rolled out a special collection of Desert Clarks and Wallabee double branded shoes.
The individual chosen as the representative of this collaboration is none other than Jamaica’s beloved international football sensation, Raheem Sterling. The Manchester City star is a well-received representative in this iconic collaboration, especially in the eyes of the Jamaican public.
The collaboration was a massive hit, even more than was anticipated. The collection was made available on August 8th and sold out in only 8 minutes. The rush of enthusiasts trying to cop a pair of this limited edition release, caused the BAPE website to crash due to overloaded servers.
The designs are a sight to behold. As described by BAPE, “the Wallabee features an extra-light outsole with unique ‘shark tooth’ tred and signature BAPE® camo textile on a premium suede vamp.”
“The Desert Boot has laser printed BAPE® logos – which is different on each foot in a pair – and Clark’s signature crepe outsole.”
The fact that Raheem Sterling was chosen as the face of the campaign will only strengthen Jamaica’s and dancehall’s culture infatuation with the Clarks brand.
It is unknown whether any Jamaicans managed to grab a pair of this uniquely designed footwear before they were sold out, but it would be great to see one pop up in a music video in short order.