C. & J. Clark International Ltd, trading as Clarks, is a British-based, international shoe manufacturer and retailer. It was founded in 1825 by brothers Cyrus and James Clark in Street, Somerset, England – where it still has its headquarters. The company has over 1,000 branded stores and franchises around the world and also sells through third-party distribution.
For the year ending January 2013, the company made a profit of £150 million on sales of £1,433m making it the 31st largest private company in the United Kingdom.[2] More than half of its £1.4bn annualized sales to January have generated abroad, and since 2010 the company has moved into India, where it now has 25 stand-alone stores, and relaunched marketing in China, where it has opened 400 outlets in partnership with local footwear retailers.[3]
It is 84% owned by the Clark family, with the remaining 16% held by employees and related institutions.[2]
The company is commonly known for its Desert Boot, a distinctive ankle height boot with a crepe rubber sole, usually made out of calf suede leather traditionally supplied by Charles F Stead & Co tannery in Leeds. Officially launched in 1950 the Desert Boot was designed by Nathan Clark (great-grandson of James Clark) based on an unlined suede boot profile produced in the bazaars of Cairo and worn by British officers in the Second World War.[4]
Converse è un'azienda statunitense che produce scarpe dagli inizi del Novecento.Fu fondata da Marquis M. Converse nel 1908 a Malden in Massachusetts (USA).
Il prodotto più famoso dell'azienda è il modello All Star Converse, ideate nel 1923 da Chuck Taylor, un giocatore di basket professionista, per migliorare il suo gioco. Negli anni sessanta, settanta e ottanta andavano di moda nel mondo della musica, infatti molti musicisti e cantanti di gruppi rock indossavano queste scarpe e con gli anni queste scarpe si sono diffuse anche tra il pubblico di massa. Dagli anni novanta sono tornate molto popolari, anche grazie alla scelta dell'azienda di produrre numerosissime variazioni sul tema, cambiando colori, materiali e forma delle scarpe originali.
Established in early 2015 in Milan by the art director Giorgio Di Salvo,
UNITED STANDARD is the new answer to the contemporary cultural offer as a merging point of two distinct values: aesthetics and functionality.
The UNITED STANDARD project is a streetwear line equally focused on accessories and clothing.
The strength of the brand lies in the technical and multifunctional features of all products, offering a collection that values the practical element,
as well as giving strong attention to the aesthetical form.
The brand name was chosen both in terms of a united-standard, as an expression of a contemporary collective cultural consciousness,
and of union-of-standards, as a combination of several distinct signs cant elements.
Starting with FW15 men's collection, UNITED STANDARD is developing a tight calendar of cultural offerings for the next collections,
ranging from fashion, music, and art.