Set Free Richardson on How the Star-Studded Documentary He Directed Celebrates 200 Years of Clarks
When it comes to orchestrating deep dives on iconic brands, Set Free Richardson is as good as it gets. So it’s fitting that Clarks once again turned to the multidisciplinary creative to direct a film celebrating its 200th anniversary.
After directing the “Clarks and New York: Soles of The City” documentary in 2022, Richardson and the Somerset, England-based brand are back with “Somerset to the World: Clarks 200.” The film was directed by Richardson — who holds the creative specialist title with Clarks — and narrated by Yasiin Bey, and it will debut on Jan. 22 at Les Bains during Paris Fashion Week.
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Richardson and Clarks tapped some of the biggest names globally in fashion, music and more to appear in the film, including Liam Gallagher of Oasis, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon of Wu-Tang Clan, designer Martine Rose and countless others.
Here, Richardson speaks with FN about the filmmaking process, including the standout stories and where Clarks is most beloved today. The conversation has been edited for clarity.
What is your first Clarks memory?
“I went to a regular public school in Philadelphia many moons ago, but the Catholic school kids always had them on. I was like, ‘Yo, those are hard.’ I wanted a black pair. I remember asking my parents, ‘I want these,’ and when they thought about shoes, they thought about church shoes. I was like, ‘No, these leather joints with this gum sole.’ I remember getting a black pair when I was very young, but my first memory was all the kids at Catholic school was wearing them.”
Why does this brand have staying power?
“Quality, craftsmanship, heritage, geographically how they’re connected. Musically, British pop was one of the big reasons it connected over there besides just being a great shoe and a great brand. Then the Jamaican culture, all the Island culture, then American culture. For some reason, Clarks had this great relationship with music. I can’t even think of another brand that has so many diverse cultures connected to the brand. When you think of Nike, you think of sports. You think of timberland, you think of like construction boots. That was the only shoe that crossed over. But when you think of Clarks, you got the Wallabee, you got the Desert Boot, you got the [Desert] Trek. It has got so many pillars, and it had to so it could be around for 200 years.”
You’re not stranger to doing film deep dives on the history of iconic brands, including Clarks. What made this project different from what you’ve done in the past?
“My goal has been to create a new lane of doing documentaries for brands that I love. There’s not many brands that are 200 years in the culture. I don’t even know another brand that’s in our culture of fashion, streetwear, hip-hop, reggae that has that many years. It was a challenge. Clarks in New York, I could do that blindfolded. I lived it. I knew the story of Slick Rick to Wu-Tang, but now when you say 200 years, I was like, ‘Oh wow, I’ve got to really do some homework. I’ve got to understand UK now, I’ve got to really go to Jamaica and get the real history. I don’t think I’ll ever get a chance to do another story on a brand that has that many years, and that was very exciting to me.”
Aside from having to do extra homework, how did you approach this film differently from the “Clarks and New York” film from 2022?
“I started with going to Street [the village in Somerset that Clarks calls home], going to headquarters and interviewing the family, understanding how they started from the family’s perspective. Going to Street to understand the brand, going to archives, which was incredible. This great gentleman named Tim Crumplin, the archivist, he taught me so much. And then I said, ‘OK, if I’m going to do this right, I got to go to Jamaica.’ I’ve got to talk to Big Youth and Allan ‘Skill’ Cole and the dreads on the countryside. I went to Kingston. I wanted to go where it really happened and then coming back to New York, getting Ghost and Rae, getting ready get different stories from them from what I had before, getting connected with Martine Rose as she’s doing women’s stuff with their collection. It was just more taking a global approach to getting the story right.”
What did you learn about Clarks during the filmmaking process?
“In the beginning, they were rum-makers. How important family is. The quality craftsmanship. They don’t chase. They stay who they are. And the silhouettes, the Trek has been around pretty much from the beginning. Their values for humanity is transferred to a product. From their staff to their team to their salespeople, you wouldn’t be around 200 years if there weren’t great people before the product.”
There are so many big names featured in this film. How did you ultimately land on the people you included?
“Some of the people are from New York. When I went to Jamaica, I found Big Youth, he was one of the originals of reggae culture. Allan ‘Skill’ Cole was somebody that I brought to the table, he was the person that was behind Bob Marley. I’ve been a Clarks head for a long time and after the first movie, I was on the radar of a lot of people, not as a Ghostface or a Rae type, but as a creative that’s been connected with Clarks for going on close to five years now. Eric Haze is in this, he’s a good friend of mine, he was wearing Clarks since 16. Through the process, more people were coming to me with Clarks stories. Through the research, I saw a picture of Marvin Gaye wearing Clarks. There have been just so many great things. Even with Chris Robinson, putting him in the film, he shot the [‘Apollo Kids’] video with Ghost when they created [a fake] Wallabee factory. I knew that side of the story was never told. When I seen that video, I thought they were in Asia, but they were in Queens. It came across organic and some of the people were people that I know. And then, of course, Clarks picked certain people that they were like, ‘We want these people in the film, too.’ Like Liam Gallagher has been wearing them since Oasis. I would have never known he was wearing those shoes early. And all the collabs we’ve seen through the years, from Supreme to Beams to Pokemon, seeing all them helped raise the antenna on people to talk to.”
Who has the best stories?
“For me, it has to be Ghost. We grew up listening to an album, but then you interview a person and you still feel like you listening to the album (laughs). The stories of Ghost and the dye and going overseas on the hunt for Wallabees. The OGs in his neighborhood, the gangsters were wearing them. It never gets old for me hearing Ghost. He wasn’t just wearing them. He was the stylist, he was the he was the scientist. He’s the ‘Wally Champ’ — the nicknames, the skits. Any time talking to him, I swear it feels like I’m still listening to ‘Ironman’ and ‘Cuban Lynx,’ and this feels like a part that didn’t make the album.”
The editing process for this couldn’t have been easy, given all the people you spoke with. Was there any story that pained you to have to cut for time purposes?
“I wish we could have had extended versions of Liam Gallagher, maybe even Big Youth. I wish we could have expanded more time on each region. The film is probably close to 20 minutes, but think about it, a 200-year story needs 10 years to tell the real story (laughs). It’s tough to fit 200 years in the in any type of format.”
Where in the world is Clarks the most beloved or has the largest cultural presence today?
“That has to be Jamaica, for me. You still see it everywhere. How you see Nike in America is like how you see Clarks. Even at all the hotels, the kids, you know, And in Jamaica, it was so many styles. I seen the Treks, I seen the Wallabees, I seen the Desert Boots, I seen even some of the new styles, like the collabs with Ronnie Fieg and Adidas.”
What are you looking forward to the most when it comes to the future of Clarks?
“They do what they do, and they’re good at what they do. I think the brand is powerful. The gum sole, I wish that was a book bag, I wish that was a crepe snorkel [coat]. The bees wax leather, what if that was a raincoat? I think there are opportunities there, but it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. They’re at 200 years, so who am I to say anything? I do think they could push other envelopes, but please keep making the shoes the way you make them.”
About the Author
Peter Verry is the Senior News and Features Editor for Athletic and Outdoor at Footwear News. He oversees coverage of the two fast-paced and ultracompetitive markets, which includes conducting in-depth interviews with industry leaders and writing stories on sneakers and outdoor shoes. He is a lifelong sneaker addict (and shares his newest purchases via @peterverry on Instagram) and spends most of his free time on a trail. He holds an M.A. in journalism from Hofstra University and can be reached at [email protected].
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