The Clarks Desert Boot was copied from a Cairo bazaar
The Clarks Desert Boot was copied from a war. Nathan Clark spotted British officers in wartime Cairo wearing rough suede boots with crepe soles, made cheap in the local bazaar. He redrew them, showed the design at a Chicago shoe fair in 1949, and by 1950 they were a hit. A soldier's improvisation, turned into a classic. The bazaar got none of the royalties.