Seeing Red

I first met Brooklyn-based footwear designer Clark Butterfield at the Capsule trade show in January, where I made a beeline for his booth after spying a pair of his now-famous red leather loafers. Evidently, I very audibly gasped (and possibly squealed). Clark nodded enthusiastically, confirming that I wasn’t the only one who had reacted so openly to the beauty of his completely handcrafted shoes.

Since our meeting in January, Clark has been busy developing his spring/summer 2012 collection for his namesake brand, Oliver Clark. “I didn’t use any laces. Because who needs laces in spring and summer?” Clark remarks in one of our email correspondences. “The material is a step up for spring and the last and cuts are much sleeker than fall. I love a good work boot but my collection changes a lot from season to season and doesn’t stick to one genre.”

It’s no surprise that Clark has a knack for footwear, having discovered his obsession as a young teenager in Alpine, UT, just outside of Salt Lake City. “I always had the hottest Nikes too, which was a sign,” Clark confesses. Professionally, he came to the shoe making business through a self-described run of trial and error. “I gave classic fashion and industrial design and graphic design a try and didn’t like it.” But despite any degree-related confusion, Clark still managed to launch his first footwear collection, Zuriick, before he had even started his freshman year at F.I.T.

At the age of 20, Clark began working for Marc Jacobs, where he remained for 3 years before devoting his full-time attention to Zurriick. After garnering the knowledge he needed about all things footwear–everything from design to production–and successfully establishing Zuriick as a brand sold in over 100 stores worldwide, Clark decided to start his first full contemporary collection. “I felt I finally had the know-how and direction to put my own name on something.”

It’s a well-established fact that manning one’s own ship can be challenging but incredibly rewarding. Clark quickly built a small, trustworthy team to help with the paperwork and logistics side of the business–an area he confesses to being less than savvy in. Clark finds that the most rewarding part of running his own business is completing something with full ownership. “Start to finish type of things feel good,” he explains. “But the biggest reward is when people understand what you are doing design-wise and really connect to it.”

Overall, Clark values the thought and process that go into making his line. He cites music as his foremost source of inspiration–preferably anything that is “super bubblegum.” “Anything that makes you feel like a teenager will do,” he explains. The rest of his method is equally carefree and fun. “I sketch on my computer and see what happens next…I wouldn’t say I actually know what I am going to do before hand all the time.” And yet, Clark always keeps his customers close in mind–the individuals who will sport his shoes day in and day out. Whether the black moto boot or the red loafer, Oliver Clark shoes are meant to be worn and loved, just as Clark designed them to be.

For more information and to check out the full line of Oliver Clark shoes, visit the company’s website. Guest writer Christine Mitchell is the creator of N’East Style, a blog celebrating Northeast fashion past and present.