Clarks Team Up With Sporty & Rich For Sustainable Leather Wallabee

Clarks have teamed up with Sporty & Rich for their first footwear collaboration, reinterpreting the iconic Wallabee Boot silhouette as part of a limited edition colorway collection. The shoes come in Cream Puff, Merlot and Robin’s Egg Blue, each detailed with the Clarks Originals’ signature leather tag embossed with the Sporty & Rich logo in gold.

Sporty & Rich founder, Emily Oberg, has worn Clarks her entire life, beginning with the Desert Boot and now the Wallabee. “When we started coming up with ideas, I immediately knew I wanted a soft, buttery, pebbled leather for the shoe,” she explained. “This is my favorite type of leather and since Clarks Original is traditionally suede, I thought it would be a nice but subtle update. There really was no better shoe to work on for our first footwear collaboration, especially with Clarks Originals’ alignment with Sporty & Rich’s sustainability efforts.”

Launched February 15, the leather Wallabee is now available to shop online in both men’s and women’s sizes. Oberg commented, “To me, the Wallabee embodies the sort of genderless image that I always try to incorporate into Sporty & Rich’s aesthetic. It perfectly ties together elegance and casual styles, not a dress shoe, but not quite a sneaker either. And the history of the shoe within 90s culture has also made it a versatile icon to all different groups of people.”

The exclusive line combines the aesthetics the UK-based brand is known for with the timeless heritage and staying power of Clarks, as well as Sporty & Rich’s emphasis on using sustainable and ethically-sourced textiles.  

The leather for the Wallabee was sourced from Heinen, a family-run tannery located in Germany. Their manufacturing process is centered around energy-efficient production combined with support of the Kikonda Forest Project, which plants trees in Uganda to combat forest depletion.

The sole of the shoe features a Forest Stewardship Council certified natural rubber crepe that’s obtained from the sap of the rubber tree, making it a natural, renewable resource. The FSC labeling verifies the rubber has been harvested to benefit communities, wildlife and the environment. The sustainable focus continues with the packaging, made of 90% recycled paper and printed with water-based inks.

Priced at $180, the trio of Wallabee shoes are accessible on sportyandrich.com and clarks.com. Other matching items are also up for grabs, such as the Classic Logo hoodie, sweatpants, hat and tote bag. Selfridges, Footasylum, SSENSE, Holt Renfrew and Sole Brother will stock the collaboration on February 22, so keep an eye out!