Without music lovers, Dr Martens would most likely only ever been a basic workwear boot.
UK shoe brand Dr. Martens is recognised globally for their boots signature design which emerged out of 1960’s London and had a pivotal influence on contemporary street fashion. From punk to Britpop, and goth to grunge, Dr. Martens has been a continuously iconic part of music culture.
The simple silhouette of Docs are a badge of empowerment and attitude which allow people to adopt them as part of their individual and distinctive style, while the durability and comfort of these infamous boots mean they are ideal for the unforgiving world of street fashion and live music gigs.
But it hasn’t always been like this. Originally a modest work-wear boot, Doc Martens were at one stage even sold as a shoe that could be worn for gardening. So, the transformation of these utilitarian boots into one of the modern eras most culturally relevant brands is quite a unique and interesting story.
Solid Reputation
In the small English town of Wollaston, Northamptonshire, the Griggs family had been well-known boot makers since 1901. For six decades, Griggs’ footwear were at the heart of the shoe industry in England, earning a solid reputation for manufacturing durable and sturdy work boots.
Then in post-war Munich of 1945, a 25-year-old soldier named Dr. Klaus Maertens created a boot with a unique air-cushioned sole to help with his recovery from a broken foot and showed it to Dr Herbert Funk, a friend and mechanical engineer. The 2 men decided to go into partnership and by 1947 they were formally producing their unique shoes using disused military supplies. Their business was booming within a decade, with most of their sales going to older women, and in 1959 they made the decision to advertise their invention of revolutionary footwear in overseas magazines.
By this time, the Griggs company back in England was being run by Bill and the rest of the family’s third generation his brothers Colin and Ray, as well as his son Max. While Bill was scanning the pages of a magazine for the shoe trade, the German’s advert for their innovative cushioned air sole caught his eye. The Griggs acquired an exclusive license for the boot created by the two German’s, and they decided to make a few key changes
Bill and family altered the boots with a black and yellow heel loop which featured the ‘Airwair’ brand name as well as the slogan “With Bouncing Soles”, which was actually based on Bill’s own handwriting. They also added the now distinctive yellow welt stitch, as well as modifying the heel, adding a simple bulbous upper, as well as a unique sole with a two tone groove on the edge. The 8-holed Dr. Martens 1460 boot had arrived, taking its unique name from its date of inception, the 1st of April 1960.
A Cultural Icon
Doc Martens were born in the 1960s, a decade which saw a wave of unprecedented change, with cultural upheaval, new ideas, and then eventually a social revolution. This radical atmosphere of exotic and often extravagant fashion was a pretty odd backdrop for the birth of these functional work boots, but then again Docs have always been a boot that kicked against the norms of society.
The first few years of the boot’s existence was just like any other footwear created for work, with solid quantities sold to the working class of Britain. Dr Martens were initially only worn by factory workers, postmen, and the like, until something incredible started happening. Without any prior planning by the company, Docs were suddenly being worn by early ska-loving and multi-cultural skinheads who has always proudly championed the style of working class Britain.
It wasn’t long before Pete Townshend of The Who became the first famous musician to wear Dr Martens, which he did as a symbol of his rebellious attitude and pride for his own working class history. So that’s how it came to be that Pete Townshend along with the first generation of skinheads changed their functional work-wear boots into an essential of sub-cultures forever.
A Symbol Of Self-Expression
The punk, glam, and Two Tone decade of the 1970’s saw the youth culture of the UK mushroom and branch off into countless distinct tribes with many who adopted the boot, subverting the previous styles. The anti-establishment sections of the underground community continually championed Dr. Martens, and by the end of that decade it had become a symbol of fierce self-expression that was at the very core of youth culture.
Hardcore US musicians who were touring the UK in the 1980’s started taking the popular boots back home with them, which inadvertently began the American subculture’s fascination with the brand. At the same time, girls began buying Dr. Martens’ smaller sized 8-hole boots as part of a trend on the streets of customising them, often with florals.
As grunge turned the world of mainstream music on its head brand, it took the brand along with it as Dr. Martens also became synonymous with the music festival culture of the 1990’s. Then Britpop rebelled against ‘loser kid’ apathy, as the emergence of nu-metal followed by the very early emo kids saw even more music genres also wore the same Dr Marten boots. And then shortly after Dr Marten celebrated the brand’s 40th birthday, high fashion designers in 2003 from all around the globe began customising and re-interpreting the classic 1460 boot.
The Dr Martens Of Today
Even though many aspects of style and youth culture has changed in the new age of social media, the diversity of these subcultures still champion the boots made by Dr. Martens, who are most likely attracted by its unique appeal of alternative authenticity in a world of homogeny.
As Dr. Martens gets ready to celebrate its 50th anniversary In 2020, the brand celebrates 6 decades of adoption by an ever-expanding and diverse range of free-thinking individuals as well as big name celebrities and musicians alike, with each one subverting them to suit their own attitude and personal identity. Docs are even available in a range of sandals and thongs for women.
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