Clarks Announces First Wallabee Day to Honor Its Classic Shoe Style on April 26

Clarks Originals has announced that the brand will hold its first-ever Wallabee Day celebration this year on April 26. The shoe company is encouraging customers worldwide to wear its Wallabee shoes out that day. 

To celebrate the first annual Wallabee Day, Clarks will be hosting activations, collaborations and initiatives globally in key cities to interact with Clarks customers and their communities.

In the U.S., Clarks will collaborate with NYC-based footwear brand Packer in an editorial campaign. “We need to have a Wallabee Day,” American rapper Raekwon — a collaborator of Clarks for the celebration — said about the day, “we need to be able to say today is the day everybody throws their joints on.”

In the leadup to the celebration, Clarks and Raekwon showed off the Wallabee boot in “Maple,” a neutral-toned shoe between the designs of a sneaker and a brown shoe, encouraging Clarks customers to innovate. Starting April 8, customers are encouraged to send in artwork of their version of the Wallabee for a chance to win a pair of shoes. The winners will be announced on Wallabee Day. 

The Clarks Wallabee shoe was first released in 1968. The style, initially inspired by a German moccasin called “The Grasshopper,” was the first silhouette of its kind to be mass-produced and has since been taken on by dozens of companies and designers. The Wallabee silhouette has been taken on in Jamaica, Japan, China, the U.S. and the U.K., among other countries. 

Thanks to many collaborations over the years, the Wallabee shoe silhouette has left no style untouched. Clarks has worked with musicians like the Wu-Tang Clan and Popcaan, influential female designers including Daniëlle Cathari and Jorja Smith and beloved streetwear brands like Stüssy and Carhartt WIP to create shoes that are worn from Jamaica’s dancehall scene to Manchester’s rave scene.  

The first annual Wallabee Day will take place globally on April 26.