The desert boot is a Hoxton staple. So what happened when that other hip institution, Jaguar Shoes,  got to do their take on Clarks suede chaussure?

Twin caught up with the bar-cum-design collective’s Creative Director Vickie Hayward…

How did the Clarks collaboration come about?
The power of positive manifestation? Having a name that involves us saying the word ‘shoe’ five times a day could have had something to do with it.

When we originally started talking to Clarks it was actually about a launch for another project, we quickly moved on from parties to product, at the time they had just released the Liberty print desert boot, which we were rather enamored with. One thing led to another and now we have our very own JSC designed desert boot.

What is it that you’ve sought to bring to Clarks brand?
We wanted to bring what we do in all our in-house projects to this collaboration. Our approach and ethos is to create a frame in which to showcase creative talent, working this way means we get to draw in other inputs, making something that is more varied and hopefully exciting!

Who are the JaguarShoes Collective?
The Collective is the banner that links all our and beliefs together and consists of a group of creatively motivated businesses and individuals working in art, film, fashion, music, publishing and design. The name comes from our flagship venue, which was started just over a decade ago by brother and sister duo, Nick and Teresa Letchford, they still head up the collective today, so it’s a real family affair.

Do any of you have a design background?
Very much so, I trained in jewellery design and specialised in leatherwork. In my time I’ve also worked as a blacksmith, silversmith, prop builder and product designer and I’ve done a lot of art direction, so my thing would probably be Jack of all trades. Nick has a background in graphics design and art direction, sound design and music. Teresa was a stylist and fashion editor before heading up that fashion retail side of the collective. So yes, we have a pretty broad palette of design backgrounds to draw from.

Is the Jaguar motors tussle behind you now?
We’re still awaiting the verdict, but whatever happens we’ll make it work.

You guys have a lot of fingers in a lot of pies – was there ever a plan and what can we expect next?
We work in a very organic way, but that’s not to say it is unplanned. The goal was always to expand through diversity rather than repetition, which would explain why we have many different projects as apposed to a chain of DreamBagsJaguarShoes. It definitely keeps things interesting and continually drives our enthusiasm to be a part of the creative community.

We have been working on our new homewares collection and there will definitely be a few more larger brand collaborations coming soon. At Jaguar Shoes Collective we are continuously looking for new ways to work and new ways to present our endevours. Maybe we could do actual pies next?

jaguarshoes.com

Tags: Clarks, Jaguar Shoes