Has anyone checked on the Clarks crew lately? I'm not saying that mind-altering substances are involved, but the classic British footwear brand, which has been crafting reliable footwear since 1825, seems to be having a whole lot of fun recently. Have you noticed? I think I started paying attention sometime last year, after a Supreme collaboration that featured woven suede Wallabees in acid green and hot pink suedes.

Clarks is a brand that occupies a rare and respected space in menswear. Like a pair of Levi's 501 jeans, a waxed Barbour Bedale jacket or some Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses, it's nearly impossible for the shoes to go out of style. But that doesn't mean you can't experiment and offer a few new takes on an old favorite. And like those previously mentioned brands, Clarks isn't afraid to collaborate or dabble with limited editions. After all, what's an icon, if you can't play around and have some fun with an easily recognized silhouette and long-revered reputation?

Take the brand's signature desert boot. Launched by Nathan Clark in 1950, the simple suede chukka is made to be durable, comfortable and good looking—all at a price that isn't prohibitively expensive. It needs no fussing, but that doesn't mean a few tweaks here and there aren't appreciated. After seven decades, the brand is playing around with the proportions—swapping the standard crepe rubber sole for a heavier wedge sole. Dubbed the Desert Coal, it's subtle yet pairs perfectly with the wide-legged-trouser era we've now entered.

Or the other icon of the house, the Wallabee—perhaps, the rare style link from Walter White to Wu Tang Clan, from Wes Anderson to Tyler, The Creator. As comfortable as a sneaker but looking a whole lot more put together, the curiously shaped shoe is now Clarks' best-selling style. The resurgence is partly due to a slew of new collaborations: Aimé Leon Dore recently reinterpreted them in both snakeskin and rich-shades of fuzzy suede. Of course, they—like so much of ALD's goods—sold out almost immediately.