Product History - Original Wulfrun Creepers

THE ORIGINAL WULFRUN CREEPER ARCHETYPE

⁠ ⁠“Having launched the Originals collection in 1980’s, Underground remained committed to the collection, even when the tide of fashion washed in another direction. ⁠ Questioned by many as to the relevance of the Creeper – it was Underground that held the style aloft through the 90’s and 00’s, when it was shunned by many, and no doubt brought it back to the centre stage for new generations in 2010, powerfully asserting itself as an Allgender archetype.”⁠ ⁠

the original wulfrun creeper

                                                                                   Single, Double, Triple and Wedge  The Original Wulfrun Creeper

BOY ON PHONEBOX
WULFRUN 90'S RUNWAY
CUSTOM PEPSI WULFRUN FOR SAFFRON OF REPUBLICA

The original Underground Creeper, Wulfrun was first produced in the 1980’s for our store in Manchester and was one of the styles to be included in our inaugural seasonal collection in 1987. One of the most popular designs it is, like so many of our original designs, named after an iconic British live music venue.  

We asked our founder about the introduction of the Wulfrun Creeper in the 1980’s

“ In those days the shoe industry in Northamptonshire was bristling with factories. I was looking to make the creeper shoe but many of the factories were reluctant to produce them, even those that had been making them for some time seemed to have no real interest in the style. I found a factory and we had the Wulfrun shoe in our Manchester store the next month. All the way through the 1990’s we stuck with our Wulfrun creeper promoting it for girls and guys “

Wulfrun is an Allgender round toe Creeper built on a “walled “last with an upper design that has three distinctive features: 

– a ribbed sole edge 

– two D-ring for lacing 

– a front apron that has three rows of interlacing or the apron is plain but made from a contrasting material or colour. 

Wulfrun is Allgender and produced in single, double, triple and wedge sole options and in a wide selection of leather and vegan friendly materials and colours including the signature black suede version. 

anatomy of the wulfrun creeper
The wulfrun creeper
wulfrun creeper
wulfrun creeper

Underground had been true to the Wulfrun creeper style since the 1980’s. Proudly championing the Creeper shoe through the 90’s and 00’s when otheres were distancing themselves from the iconic British shoe. Underground held it in high regard and championed it as a Flatform for women and men way before the term flatform had been coined.

In the late 2000s and early 2010’s interest was strirring and Underground attracted designers interesting in using the shoe for their runway shows. London based designer, Ashish used the shoes and a small collabration was spun out of that.

The appearance of the Wulfrun Creeper on the feet of Rihanna in a performance on the X Factor bought controversey, as the D.I.Y that had been created together with Ashish, were emblazoned with profanties that caught the eye of the camera during prime time TV veiwing. Rihanna was one of the celebrities in the 2010’s that adopted the Wulfrun Creeper.

Our founder recalls  “ I was in Japan at the time and got a message overnight to call Blow PR who were handling our press at the time. The news was the Ashish collaboration shoe that had been customised for Rihanna was front page news . The UK press had picked up on the expletive daubed on the shoe and seen on some show like the X factor. The UK Mirror and the  New York magazine ran with the story “ Rihanna wears curse word shoes on live TV “ . You know what they say about publicity, and it was true . After that we had a run on the product and a queue for collaborations “

rihanna in underground creepers
rihanna in underground creepers
RIHANNA WEARS THE LIMITED EDITION COLLABORATION SHOE CREATED BY LONDON DESIGNER ASHISH . THE D.I.Y SHOE INCLUDED EXPLETIVES THAT WERE REMOVED IN NEWSPAPER IMAGES
rihanna in underground creepers

There followed a surge in the popularity of the shoe as finally after those years of nurturing it , the shoe was given worthy recognition as an archetype. The Wulfrun Creeper found its way onto runways, independent music venue stages and sellout international concerts as the shoe to be seen in. From London to Seoul, Tokyo to Paris, Milan to Los Angeles, New York to Stockholm it became the performance shoe for artists, their fans and followers and really anyone with an appreication of British subculture .

Pamyu-Pamyu
KYARY PAMYU PAMYU
Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus
JUDE LAW IN BLACK SUEDE WULFRUN
KEY FROM SHINEE IN MULTI COLOUR SNAKE PRINT WULFRUN
RIHANNA IN UNDERGROUND WULFRUN CREEPERS
RIHANNA WEARS THE ASHISH COLLABORATION DIY WULFRUN
SANDARA PARK FROM 2NE1 IN THE LAZY OAF COLLABORATION WULFRUN
Cl from 2ne1 in the wulfrun creeper
CHAELIN FROM 2NE1 WEARS THE TRIPLE SOLE BLACK SUEDE WULFRUN
AZELIA BANKS
AZELIA BANKS IN THE FUCHSIA PATENT WULFRUN
kiko
KIKO

Throughout the 2010’s and into the 2020’s and the Underground Wulfrun Creeper is a staple for musicians and artists. For the start up garage bands , the new generation punks, drummers, bassists, voclaists, managers, sound team and DJ,s its shoe with its own tune.

NOVA TWINS
OLLY ALEXANDER
OLLY ALEXANDER
HOT MILK
HOTMILK
BEABADOOBEE
BEABADOOBEE
JACK SAUNDERS
DJ REBEKAH
STRANGE BONES
BOBBY WOLFGANG STRANGE BONES
KID KAPICHI
JOSIE HO
BLACK HONEY
BLACK HONEY
YUNGBLUD
HEATHER PALEWAVES
HEATHER from PALEWAVES

The Original Wulfrun Creeper has been a favourite for our collaborations  with the classic style being reinterpreted for Motorhead, Molly Goddard, Limi Feu, and Solene Lescouet as just a few of the examples.

undergrround x molly goddard

UNDERGROUND X MOLLY GODDARD

With a look that is deliberately feminine using maximum shape and explosive colour, Molly Goddard is one of London’s sharpest and smartest designers drawing on inspirations that are nostalgic and playful but at the same time attuned to the modern world.The collaboration was partly inspired by Molly’s recollection of her childhood spent in Notting Hill with memories of her punk era parents and her Dad in a pair of Creepers.

UNDERGROUND X LIMI FEU

Limi Yamamoto’s LIMI feu Underground collaborated on a version of the Wulfrun Creeper that incorporated Metal Plates onto the apron of the shoe . Each plate was fixed to the upper to allow the shoe to flex in wear but still maintain the metal plated effect. A limited edition was made exclusively for sale in Japan.

 

underground x solene
underground x motorhead ace of spades creeper

UNDERGOUND X SOLENE LESCOUET

Underground collaborates with Parisian designer Solene Lescouet to create a collection of Wulfrun Creepers that are inspired by Solene’s fascination with punk and rock. Each upper design has been chosen by Solene in conjunction with Underground.

Each pair Is made using authentic Tartan that is sourced exclusively in the UK.

 

UNDERGROUND X MOTORHEAD

Upon its release in 1980, the ‘Ace of Spades’ album was nothing short of a gamechanger for all forms of hard rock.  Nothing was harder. Nothing was faster. And certainly nothing was louder. 

Our collaboration with Motörhead celebrated the classic track through a reinterpretation of our Original Wulfrun Creeper

 

You can buy the Wulfrun collection here  SHOP WULFRUN

CHAELIN

Express Shipping

From product stock to Worldwide destinations

Including UK, Europe, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Macao, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Phillipines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, USA