Product Design Brief

Clarks’ Brick & Poetry

When thinking about Clarks and the hip hop powerhouses that have rocked their shoe, I started thinking about the meaning behind New York in particular. The city that never sleeps has an architecture that might speak  louder than it does. These very iconic brick buildings that were once, and still are, associated with poverty and class dynamics. What would it look like to affirm stigma? To peel back hardship  and find something good.

This shoe design mimics the stacking patterns behind brick buildings. The tan sole paired well with the classic burgundy color.  For embellishments:  the bottom  of the shoe  has a map of New York’s boroughs and the hip hop artists associated with that city, the shoe laces are modeled after microphone cords with the aglets representing the microphone top, lastly, one of the tags is a love letter to symbolize love for the culture and the city while the other is the classic wallabee tag. 

For sneakerheads, there would be an option to have a custom turntable built to house the shoes. For more casual fans, the box would be made out of a cardboard material that would be just as sturdy as the brick inspiration. 

With the focus of this brief being on shoes, I thought it important to look at Clarks’ rhetorical appeal. How do you situate yourself within a rich history of hip hop influence, culture, and style?

Story of hip hop goes

In  the 70’s a depression thick as america

fell over the Bronx

Somewhere along the line 

Brick became known as a signal for poor people &

projects

Jobs disappeared

section 80, a red line

fluttered through neighbourhoods like thighs

In a mini skirt

But what if I told you under all this make believe

There was magic

There was the summer we fell in love with rhythm

And wore music for a week

Enter Kool  Herc

Jamaican born DJ & from him came breaking

music down to the groove

And from that came scratching vinyl till hair rose

from plastic, MCs and rapping

And who are we?
Clarks
Just a product of immigration

A little luck

& a lot of hard work 

Your favorite rappers classic shoe

Raekwon, ghost face,

Wu Tang  wore wallaby

The oochie wally wally

Illmatic himself: Nas