Dr. Marten's
The famous footwear, which became synonymous of 1970s punks and skinheads in Britain, is actually of German origin. The man who created these iconic boots was called Klaus Märtens, who was a doctor during World War II in the German army. In 1945, he injured his foot and found his army boots were much too uncomfortable. So he got hold of some soft leather for the inside of the boots and created air-padded soles, to make them more comfy to walk in. After the war, Klaus Märtens wanted to develop his idea and put his boots into production. He was able to do so in 1947, thanks to the backing of a friend named Dr Herbert Funck. At first, 80% of the boots were sold to middle-aged women, maybe because the boots were so comfy on their sore tootietoes!
By 1959, Märtens and Funck wanted to sell their boots abroad. R. Griggs, a British shoe manufacturer was very interested and bought patent rights to make the shoe in the UK. Griggs changed the boots from Dr. Märtens to the more British friendly Dr. Martens, and added the distinctive yellow stitching and trademarked the ‘Air Wair' soles.
The first pair of Dr. Martens came out on the 1st of April 1960 and was a lovely cherry red patent leather. This model became known as the original 1460 style and is still popular today! Dr. Martens were quickly adopted by workers in different sectors (policemen, postmen, factory workers) and by the young rebels such as skinheads and punks. Because of these youth groups making Dr. Martens part of their distinctive look, Dr. Martens took on edgier connotation: less comfy and comfortable, more dangerous and indestructible. Although today Dr. Martens has lost some of that edginess, it is still a staple British brand which comes back round every few years and reminds us that the British are rebels at heart.
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