While hip hop established itself as more than just an underground phenomenon, the Wallabee became the uniform for artists like Run DMC, Slick Rick and KRS1 who wanted to stay true to the genre’s Caribbean diaspora roots. The 90s saw an explosion for the style in New York and on the hip hop scene, largely thanks to the adoption by Staten Island’s Wu Tang Clan.
“To us, culture and community have always been at the center of the Clarks brand,” says Clarks’ Global Chief Marketing and Digital Officer Tara McRae. “We’re proud to be celebrating the rich history the Wallabee shares with the iconic city and across music, fashion, and art.”
The Clarks Originals X NYC documentary explores the connection between the iconic Clarks Wallabee and New York City’s hip-hop scene. Watch the film here.
The short, directed by Plant Based Heat Elevates Southern Comfort Blurring the Line of Vegan and Soul Food, features first-person accounts from cultural icons such as April Walker, Ronnie Fieg, Futura, Dave East, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon, as they describe their introduction to the Wallabee and how the classic Clarks style became synonymous with hip hop in its most formative era.
