Dr Martens shoes have remained popular for a number of decades and have become an important statement in footwear for a number of different sub cultures and movements. These different sub cultures saw Dr Martens Shoes as a way to identify who they were and to recognise those that were similar to them but how did this come to be?
A young German military doctor called Klaus Maertens created the initial boot after he hurt his ankle skiing. Dr Klaus Maertens had been skiing whilst on leave from fighting in WWII. He found that the boots and shoes he had made his feet hurt even more, so he decided to fix this problem by creating a more comfortable shoe of his own. He came up with a boot that had an air-cushioned sole that provided comfort as well as cushioning some of the impact from walking and running. The boot also gave him support for the ankle, which reduced the amount of body weight applied to the ankle.
Dr Maertens had trouble selling his footwear in Germany until an old friend from University called Dr. Herbert Funck took an interest. Together they promoted and sold the shoes in Germany and became very successful with the shoes becoming a big hit among the female population. It wasn’t long until they started selling the shoes internationally and British shoe manufacturers the Griggs Group were quick to buy the rights to the patent and the first British Dr Martins Shoes went on sale in 1960.
The British Dr Martens shoes were obviously given their name after their creator and as they entered the UK market they were promoted as having bouncing soles, filled with air and were given the AirWair label they are now famous for. Dr Martens boots instantly became a hit with the skin head movement and the UK Ska music scene. Throughout the decade the trend spread to Punk, New Wave and Grunge music, which helped to grow the shoe brand in the United Kingdom and abroad.
Dr Martens remained popular almost until the turn of the century when declining sales forced the company to move production to Thailand in order to reduce costs, although the vintage range is still produced in Great Britain. You can now find them everywhere with Dr Martens shoes in Bristol to a full range of boots, shoes and sandals in New York. The brand is now a very well known name in homes all around the world.
