Upcycled some old Clarks Trigenic I had with some Nike Air Max One Ultra, that I bought by mistake a few years back. I lasted the upper down half a size as my sole unit was half a size down, but it also helped as it allowed me to pull under the existing glue lines. More importantly it allowed me to create a lasting allowance. I needed to board last them, which requires a bit extra upper to fold under and glue to a sole board. The Clarks like most factory produced shoes these days are Strobel lasted. To help with this reshape I tacked the heel at the right height, brushed on leather stretch, a combination of alcohol and water that loosens the structure of leather, and lasted them by hand with pliers and tacks. This was easier than it might have been, as the Clarks upper had no plastic heel cups or stiffeners and was made of thick suede and nubuck. Something that might retain structure. It wasn’t totally easy, the toe is the hardest because the shape is very different on Clarks. You have to rob Peter to pay Paul a bit. Quite a lot of shape that needs to shrink and collect in a bit at a time to avoid the puckering you see on some hybrids. When this had dried out the upper was glued to the Nike sole unit. I added decals and a blue tongue pull added to pick up the blue outsoling.
It was great to make something new from old!
September 2020