Is Lucien Clarke's DCV'87 Making DC Cool Again?
Brand: DCV'87 x DC Shoes
Model: Lynx
Release Date: July 22
Price: $120
Buy: DC Shoes
Editor’s Notes: “The insoles screams ‘I saw this coming' and 'It’s not a f*cking game,’” says Lucien Clarke of his forthcoming and highly-anticipated sneaker collaboration with DC.
Clarke is actually referring to the literal inscriptions on the outside and inside of each sneaker, but also in a more general sense ahead of the impending release.
The designer and pro DC skateboarder, who has crafted a name for himself with his work on the intersection of fashion and skating, is debuting his own label DCV’87 alongside DC, by taking the latter's Lynx OG and delivering a hybrid OG iteration, which has been aptly-titled: DCV'87 Lynx.
“Our first project with Lucien is all about the innate chemistry between DC's heritage and his creative point of view,” explains Michael Minter, Global Head of Marketing at DC Shoes.
“DC meets DCV'87. It just made too much sense, so we made it the jumping off point for what will be a series of exciting projects to come.”
In recent years, Clarke has become one of the most influential faces in the world of streetwear having worked with the likes of Palace, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Calvin Klein. With his DC collaboration though, things get personal with the resulting sneaker a unique combination of DC’s Lynx Zero upper and Lynx OG sole.
To accompany the sneaker’s release, Clarke headed to his birthplace of Jamaica for the campaign alongside fellow DC and Palace skateboarder, Kanin Garner, and photographer Julian Klincewicz who captured the chunky skate silhouette in all its phat-tongued glory.
“[This] feels amazing man, international rollout,” Clarke continued. “[I’m] excited to get my vision out for such an iconic shoe silhouette. [This is] the natural flow of skateboarding into luxury, [and then] luxury [back] to skateboarding.”
It must be noted that the natural flow Clarke eludes to has been happening for quite some time now. Labels like Louis Vuitton and Lanvin (to name only two of many) have been putting ’00s skate shoe-inspired sneakers on their runways at Paris Fashion Week as far back as 2020.
Back in 2021 Clarke himself designed LV's first ever skate shoe under the-then guise of the late Virgil Abloh, who is also renowned for bridging the two often polar opposite worlds of skateboarding and luxury fashion.
“DCV'87 is the collaboration between my mind and skateboarding," finished Clarke. "My brand really has no limits, never boxed in, only open-minded creativity.”
