In May 2023, Clarks announced Martine Rose as its guest creative director.
Following her initial presentation as part of the SS24 season, the UK designer has unveiled a more detailed look at the offering through a new campaign titled Coming Up Roses. Lensed by famed photographer Sharna Osbourne, the project takes place in a series of vintage bedsits inspired by archival Clarks advertising from the ‘80s. Emblematic of Martine Rose’s puffed-out designs, the visuals highlight a balance between reality and artifice, with scenes ranging from one person playing the guitar to others portrayed suggestively lying beneath the sheets.
“The collection was about comfort and this overblown feeling of softness and squidginess, so it felt easy and natural to create that feeling around bedding,” says Martine Rose. “Subconsciously, personal spaces have become a motif for the label that I’ve used for the collections and in various ways, and Coming Up Roses is about that intimacy that I enjoy pulling people into.
“There’s something so completely unique about personal space—a generosity to being invited to someone’s house—it breaks down the hierarchy. It’s all about engaging with people, using memory and familiarity as a way of connecting. Clarks is such a familiar household name, everything from start to finish has been with the broadness of the mainstream in mind.”
Included in the offering is four perennial silhouettes from the Clarks archive. Of the styles, The Oxford, The Loafer and The Sandal are revamped with playful proportions and in a series of prints and colourways. Nodding to Austrian artist Erwin Wurm’s Convertible Fat Cars, additionally, each model is made from 100% recycled nylon fabric uppers, along with breathable leather linings.
A reimagined version of the Torhill Hi rounds out the collection, featuring a high-top silhouette that stems from the iconic Clarks Wallabee. Made exlusively in snake-effect leather, the shoe boasts a chunky, grated thermoplastic rubber outsole for added toughness and is finished with a leather branded fob.
You can cop the Martine Rose x Clarks collection now on martinerose.com and at Selfridges, and from February 16 via clarks.com and select retailers.
