Check Out These Custom Clarks Wallabees Created for JAY-Z and His Inner Circle

Footwear artist and colorway designer Stan Birch (known as @staniflou on Instagram) was recently tapped to create custom pairs of Clarks Wallabees for JAY-Z and his inner circle. Inspired by the 50th anniversary of hip-hop and the lifelong friendship between JAY-Z and his closest confidants — Emory Jones, Tyran “Ty-Ty” Smith, Jay Brown, Lenny Santiago and Juan Perez — Birch set out to create pairs that both showed the crew’s solidarity and their individual tastes, inspirations and preferences. “All these guys have been friends for so long that I needed to create a colorway that represented a real OG vibe,” says Birch. “I concluded that all these guys had to have the exact same pair, but with details that were super personal to them.”

The crew’s unity is shown in the matching color schemes and embellishments displayed on each pair: all feature a grey and black suede upper with shaggy detailing that Birch describes as “vintaged” around the forefoot’s trim and a hand-painted Paper Planes logo on the right shoe’s lateral heel. Other key crew details include a list of each member’s name printed in 22-karat gold leaf on all pairs, and Birch’s logo on the left shoe’s lateral heel.

However, the most striking part of the whole creation is provided by the hangtags, which are different on each pair. “All of the hangtags are reminders of something specific for each member of the crew,” notes Birch. 30 triangular hang tags were created, 6 for each pair, including everything from recognizable motifs like the Grammy Awards logo and Def Jam wordmark to a mai tai, Tyran “Ty-Ty” Smith’s favorite drink. Besides the triangular hang tags, there are also seven rectangular laser-cut fobs that display JAY-Z’s lyrics about his friends. Each pair was also packaged with black-and-white photos of the crew for a final personal touch.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for these pairs to release, as they were made bespoke for JAY-Z and his crew. However, if you’re interested in getting your own pair from Stan Birch, you can contact him through his Flou Customs page.