BAM! Clarks Still Cover Jamaica

The reggae producer Bunny Lee said: “Clarks stand the test of time inna Jamaica. All the other shoes come and bow down at Clarks’ foot.” DJ Trinity said in the 70s that you couldn’t get a girlfriend if you didn’t wear Clarks. And the dancehall star Vybz Kartel dedicated no fewer than three hit songs to the shoes. Clarks might be associated with schoolchildren in the UK, but they have also been the shoe of choice for Jamaican men for nearly 70 years.

The phenomenon of Clarks in Jamaica is about a lot more than footwear – it tells the story of the relationship between the island and the UK over 100 years. The shoes can be traced back to the colonial era. Clarks were sold in the 20s, and seen as aspirational shoes because they came from Britain. “There were two main stores, next door to each other on King Street in Kingston. Nathans and Issas, both upmarket stores,” says Fingers. “They were the only stockists and would have amazing window displays. To a lot of Jamaicans, King Street was the main shopping street.” The shops first sold women’s and children’s shoes, before the men’s desert boot arrived in 1949. The popularity was a slow burn but by 1970, hundreds of pairs were sold in Jamaica every week and annual Clarks sales in the country were £100,000. In the 70s and 80s, wearing Clarks might have caused young men to be targeted by the Jamaican police, because the shoes were associated with the so-called rude boys. These days, they are worn by politicians. In his election campaign in 2020, Andrew Holness, the country’s prime minister, conspicuously wore Clarks, holding them in the air at public appearances. “Can you imagine Boris Johnson doing [something like] that?” says Fingers. He explains it was a direct way for Holness to reach a specific demographic. “[DJ] Ninjaman said, they aren’t a bad man shoe, they’re a garrison shoe … Garrisons are the poorer part of town, and garrison people love Clarks the most.”