How Meartens Boots became Dr Martens shoes

Dr Martens shoes have remained popular for a number of decades and have become an important statement in footwear for a number of different cultures and movements. These different sub cultures used Dr Martens as a way to identify who they were and to recognise those that were similar to them but how did this come to be?

An educated German military doctor called Klaus Maertens created the initial design 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 already owned made his feet hurt even more, so he decided to fix this problem by creating a more comfortable shoe of his own. He created a boot that had a sole filled with air that provided comfort as well as cushioning some of the impact from walking and running. The boot also provided support for the ankle, which reduced the amount of body weight applied to the ankle.

Dr Maertens didn’t have much luck selling his footwear in Germany until an old friend from University called Dr. Herbert Funck took an interest. Together they marketed and sold the shoes in Germany and became hugely successful with the shoes becoming a big hit among the female population. It wasn’t long until they started promoting the shoes internationally and British shoe manufacturers the Griggs Group bought the rights to the patent and the first British Dr Martins shoes went on sale in April of 1960.

The British Dr Martens shoes were obviously named after their creator and as they entered the UK footwear market they were marketed as having bouncing soles, filled with air and were given the AirWair tag they are now famous for. Dr Martens boots instantly became a hit with Skinheads and the UK Ska music scene. Later on this spread to Punk, New Wave and Grunge music, which helped to raise the profile of the footwear brand at home and abroad.

Dr Martens held on to their popularity almost until the turn of the century when declining sales forced the footwear brand 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 anywhere with Dr Martens shoes in Bath to a full range of boots, shoes and sandals in New York. The brand is now a very well known household name across the globe.