Clarks is celebrating its 200-year anniversary with the discharge of a brand new documentary titled From Somerset to the World. The brief movie follows the journey of Clarks, from humble beginnings in Avenue, Somerset, to changing into probably the most recognizable footwear manufacturers on this planet.
From Somerset to the World, narrated by Yasiin Bey and directed by Set Free Richardson, tells the compelling story of how a small household enterprise in rural England grew to develop into a cultural and international phenomenon.
“200 years in the past, the world wouldn’t have contained the telegraph, phone, motor autos and aeroplanes. The primary-ever public steam railway had solely simply been invented,” says Tim Crumplin, archivist on the Shoemakers Museum. “Somerset in 1825 was comparatively lower off from the remainder of the nation, which required self-sufficiency and inspired the Clark household to do issues in a different way.”
Clarks rapidly grew to become masters of their craft, creating many shoemaking methods nonetheless used to today. The documentary’s star-studded forged options icons from all over the world, together with Liam Gallagher, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Martine Rose, and extra, every talking concerning the affect that Clarks had of their cities and lives.
The documentary goes on to elucidate how Clarks grew to become deeply embedded in Jamaican tradition, with testimony from Jamaican reggae artist Lila Iké, music curator Becca Dudley, and former Jamaican footballer Allan Cole. The movie additionally touches on the model’s affect in NYC, a subject that was additionally lined in Clarks’ 2022 documentary Soles of the Metropolis.
The movie then strikes to Tokyo, the place writer David Marx talks about how Clarks’ Desert Boots had been a staple in Sixties Japanese vogue because the “Ivy League” look was seen because the premiere model throughout that point. Designer NIGO was additionally talked about as a purpose for the recognition of Clarks footwear in Japan.
The 200 years of heritage constructed by Clarks continues to be related right now because the sneakers have develop into interwoven into the cultures across the globe. “Clarks is only a true heritage model, its iconic,” says artistic director Danielle Cathari.
Try Clarks’ From Somerset to the World documentary beneath.
