14 British artists will design limited edition Desert Boots.
Courtesy of Clarks.

To celebrate 65 years of its iconic Desert Boot, British shoe brand Clarks has announced a global artist initiative in partnership with the landmine clearance organisation The HALO Trust.

“Clarks: Rebooted” brings together 14 leading British and UK-based artists from a wide variety of artistic disciplines, from painting to design.

Each artist was given a shoebox containing a pair of the Desert Boot along with materials, swatches, pattern layout, and background information on the famous shoe. They were commissioned to design their own limited edition style of the boot, which will be available for purchase from spring of this year. Each artist will also create a unique work of art which re-interprets the boot.

Clarks was launched as a family business in 1825. The brand is not unfamiliar with working alongside artists, having patronized, among others, Henry Moore, whose work they displayed at their UK Head Office.

Contents of the ‘Inspiration Box’ given to each artist and designer.Courtesy of Clarks. 

 

All the profits of this collaboration will go to The HALO Trust, a British-based charity who removes debris left behind after war. It seems a fitting collaboration, as the 250 Desert Boot was first worn by off-duty army officers in the conflict zones of World War Two.

The exhibition opens in March in Shanghai and will conclude with a fundraising auction in London in October, the proceeds of which will be donated to The HALO Trust.