Four times a year, fashion data service Lyst publishes its quarterly Index, a ranking of the world's most popular products and brands based on consumer behavior, including on- and off-platform searches, product views and sales, as well as social media mentions, to Bring maps out what consumers desire most at the moment. And while it may not come as a huge surprise that the Alaïa mesh ballerina is the current number one, given its ubiquitous popularity with the fashion world and influencers - ditto numbers two (Coach suede Brooklyn shoulder bag) and three (Puma Speedcat OG sneakers in red ) - just in the top 10 at number nine is a more left-wing entry that has been on the scene for more than 50 years: Clarks Originals Wallabee.
The modest Wallabee from the British shoe brand Clarks, based in Somerset, is a striking suede moccasin boot with a square toe and a thick crepe sole. The Wallabee originated in 1968 when Lance Clark was inspired to create it after seeing a similar style called the Grasshopper, originally made by a German shoe company, Sioux. It felt like the natural evolution of the Clarks Originals Desert boot, which was already popular in the UK and beyond, with beatniks in the 1950s and mods in the 1960s.
The key to the Wallabee's continued success lies partly in the simplicity of its construction. Made from just two pieces of suede and hand-sewn with extra-thick waxing thread, it has a tubular construction that resembles a marsupial's pouch, hence the name. The shoes are finished with a natural crepe sole made from latex tapped from rubber trees, resulting in beautiful, non-synthetic footwear that's smarter than a sneaker but more comfortable than a Chelsea boot. Fans consider it the perfect smart-casual shoe.
If you didn't know the name, you probably know what a Wallabee looks like. Maybe you wore a pair to school in the early 1990s, or maybe you remember a parent or grandparent wearing them even earlier. Every generation since the beginning will have their own memories of the Wallabee and an associated subculture, whether that be their popularity in the Acid House scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s (those crepe soles were a bit impractical on a wet dance floor in the Haçienda (but this was a time when you couldn't wear trainers in nightclubs) or spin them with your adidas Gazelles during the heyday of Britpop.
But it was Jamaican Rude Boy culture in the 1960s, and later hip-hop, that made Wallabees a huge success across the Atlantic and made them an iconic shoe style worldwide. In 1993, all nine members of the hip-hop collective Wu-Tang Clan endorsed the shoes, wearing them in performances and music videos and even using them in the lyrics for Gravel pit. The band came from New York City, where Wallabees were already popular on the streets thanks to the Jamaican culture that had spread there.
In 1971, the alarm was even raised at John F Kennedy Airport so that the customs team had to assemble cages for the 4,176 Wallabees scheduled to arrive from Clarks. They had mistaken the shoes for the animals and were concerned about the lack of paperwork that came with them. Clarks is now celebrating that date - April 26 - with Wallabee Day and is encouraging fans around the world to share their love for these iconic shoes.
But why, decades after they first appeared on the scene, are Wallabees so popular now? The style collaborations have become extremely popular in sneaker and streetwear culture and have certainly helped; Clarks launched 25 in 2023 alone. Recent big names include cool fashion labels Sacai, Supreme, Goodhood, Carhartt, Billionaire Boys Club and Drake's Ovo. Clarks notably collaborated with longtime fans Wu-Tang Clan on a style dubbed "the Wu Shoe" in 2018, and many more celebrities were eager to get in on the action. Footballer Raheem Sterling has been a regular collaborator since 2020, while soul singer Jorja Smith and Liam Gallagher have collaborated Wallabee styles with Clarks in recent years.
Speaking of which, the current Oasis revival will no doubt have fans of the band dusting off their old crepe soles or investing in a new pair for the Gallagher brothers' tour next summer. Even the supporting act, The Verve's Richard Ashcroft, is a fellow Wallabees fan, having worn a pair on the cover of the band's 1997 album Urban Hymns.and in the video for the hit from the same album, Bittersweet symphony.
Style influencers like digital creator Matthew Spade show us how to style them for 2024 on Instagram and TikTok. Spade, who has been wearing Wallabees since he was a Wu-Tang Clan fan at school in the 1990s ("keep as many tags on as you can"), returned to them in his late 30s after a battle with Desert boots. and has two pairs, including a limited-edition checkerboard pair from Goodhood. "They form a nice bridge between a loafer and a sporty sneaker. You feel at home when you go somewhere smart, but casually they also fit," he says. Spade pairs them with straight, faded jeans and a striped shirt, or with longer, loose black jeans, a hoodie and a cap.
And you'd be wrong to think Wallabees are just for men. A new generation of women has fallen in love with them after seeing them styled by singer FKA Twigs and producer, DJ and singer-songwriter Nia Archives, among others. The influencer and Central Saint Martins teacher Jess Lawrence, one of the faces of the new campaign for the Clarks Originals collaboration with cult streetwear store BSTN, wears her leopard print Wallabees with oversized double denim, a trench coat, beret and large sunglasses. Other Wallabee trends for women include styling with Bermuda shorts and long socks, or loose co-ord sets in camouflage or animal print.
The brand itself - and by that I mean its offshoot, Clarks Originals, not to be confused with the main Clarks brand - has 1.3 million followers on Instagram and a whopping 3.6 million on TikTok, proving that the younger generation is just as enthusiastic is, if not more, to embrace the Wallabee than the many who have loved them in recent years.
Hannah Rochell is the author of En Brogue: Love Fashion. Love shoes. Hate heels.