Many guests, the gallery may evoke recollections of getting measured for their first pair of school shoes on a somewhat chilly metal measuring device. Some visitors, the cabinets of immaculate Wallabees and desert-style footwear may bring to mind youthful fascinations with US hip-hop or British music movements.
Nostalgic moments will also return vividly for numerous residents whose families made the brand’s footwear for generations, as the box-fresh Footwear Heritage Center opens its doors in the Somerset village of Street.
Nicky Dowding said that some visitors may be surprised at how far this very British brand, which is marking its bicentennial year in 2025, spread across the world. “In the UK, Clarks is often associated with children’s footwear, but within fans across the world it’s viewed in very different ways,” she explained.
Dozens of pairs of shoes are on display, with some showcases resembling vibrant, abstract works of contemporary art. Dowding mentioned that a significant number were in storage: “Among the biggest tasks we’ve had while developing the museum is essentially selecting the items to showcase? Which narratives do we want to tell? Because there is an overwhelming amount.”
Fans of urban music and the TV series Breaking Bad are likely to hot-foot it to the displays of Wallabees, designed in the 1960s, and inspired by the moccasin.
The this style was initially seen as too unconventional in the UK but turned out to be hugely popular in the US and was adopted by members of the NYC hip-hop band Wu-Tang Clan, who sported them, rapped about them, and included them in art work.
In later years, Wallabees played a featured role in the first episode of the series when Walter White, the chemistry teacher turned illicit drug super-cook, sported a pair, together with unflattering white briefs.
Another highlight of the museum is its account of the Desert Boot, inspired by the travels of a company relative to Burma and India during the second world war. They grew into a favourite of the 1960s subculture in the UK and were also adopted enthusiastically by Liam and Noel Gallagher.
The company’s religious originators may have been surprised that their brand became such a popular choice among stars.
The inaugural display in the gallery is a modest pair of house shoes made from offcuts of a sheepskin rug around 1825. The exhibition details how the company quickly expanded into one of the most important in the Southwest England, and how the family did good works in Somerset and farther afield.
A family descendant, head of the trust that preserves and promotes the brand story, explained the firm prospered because of its ethical foundations. “Among the Quaker testimonies is truth, and that means that you’re very transparent in all your transactions,” she stated. “People trusted them. The household made some money through the venture. This enabled them to become charitable and work for suffrage. They were involved in the fight against slavery in the US.”
A business archivist said his favourite part of the exhibition was a set of equipment from the desert boot production line, which was located at the Bushacre factory. The factory closed a 25 years ago and the footwear are now produced in the Asia.
He said: “The majority of the people that operated on that line did so for many years.” An employee was nicknamed after the ballet dancer because he worked so swiftly and efficiently between the two machines he worked on. “The employees were so proficient at what they did.”
If the casual shoes and boots will appeal to enthusiasts, lovely recreations of Clarks shoe shops will evoke memories for a broader range of people.
The museum’s director observed: “I think, people will be able to find themselves in the museum. Visitors will recall having their sized on the gauge so that their initial footwear were properly fitted. It was a ceremony, a milestone.”
One of the cases includes her daughter’s first shoe, with a instant photo of her in the store. “I treasure that,” she remarked. “It opens up a box of memories.”
