Clarks Redefines Nature as Flagship Shoe Undergoes Radical Redesign

Clarks has today launched a new campaign that shakes up perceptions of the brand as it debuts the radical redesign of its flagship shoe, Nature. The updated design gives the 30-year-old model a new lease of life whilst retaining the same craftsmanship of the much-loved original. 

Creatively executed by animation and production studio, BlindPig, sister company of Absolute Post, the film follows the journey of the shoe’s transformation, revealing the time-honed process unique to the shoe manufacturer, as well as its pioneering use of cutting-edge technologies. Using a unique blend of animation and live action, the action-packed film follows the Nature IV shoe on a step-by-step journey through its redesign and rebirth.  

Ric Comline, Creative Director of BlindPig comments: “As a heritage brand with roots going back to 1825, it’s sometimes overlooked that Clarks has been at the forefront of technological discoveries but they’ve actually been 3D printing for 20 years now and were pioneers of design trends such as the air-filled rubber role, so it was important for the new film to reflect this. The creative team at Clarks had a strong vision of what they wanted to achieve, so as creative collaborators, our job was to take that idea and translate it into a fully-formed concept and something visually captivating.” 

Thanks to the direct to client set-up, the team at BlindPig was able to maintain swift communication with Clarks and work closely to realise the concept. The creative powerhouse handled the project all the way through from production, audio, and post-production, with all of the elements being developed simultaneously side by side. 

Kirsty Murray, Senior Producer at BlindPig, comments: “It was a real pleasure to work with such a receptive client and be part of a refreshingly direct creative process. Because there were no middlemen, we were able to have a clear dialogue with the team at Clarks, giving us the scope to be nimble and reactive to any creative leads.”

Says Ric: “One of the greatest challenges was building the shoe in animation and doing justice to the product. It was a real treat to visit the Clarks factory and witness first-hand the exclusive hand-crafting technique. The CG team at Absolute Post explored photo-real texturing and lighting to get the materials to accurately reflect the specifically designed elements of the shoe. To best achieve this, we experimented with a combination of Cinema 4D and Maya, harnessing elements of each, such as the interactive capabilities of Cinema 4D and the photo-real capabilities of Maya.”

The campaign launches online today, as well as in-store globally.