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Painful beginnings
On leave from the German army during World War Two, doctor Klaus Märtens injured his ankle while skiing in the Alps. And after realising he’d need something more comfortable boot than standard army-issue boots he set about using soft leather and air-padded soles made of tyre to forge a better one. When the war ended he took this design further.
A Brit special
By 1959, Märtens’ company was so big that British shoe manufacturer R. Griggs Group bought patent rights to manufacture the shoes in the UK and a star was born. The first official pair rolled out on April 1, 1960. Your grandad might have been first in line.
Workers unite
Mod-ish
Much in part to their blue collar association and no-nonsense aesthetic, they were eventually picked up by mods and their hard-core cousins the skinheads, wearing them as a badge of honour throughout the sixties and beyond.
Who?
This mod-factor also helped propel Dr Martens to the forefront of the UK’s music scene, where many young British rock stars quickly adopted the boots in a show of working class solidarity during shows. The Who’s Pete Townshend was rarely spotted on stage without his jet black 1460s and even claimed to go to bed in them.
Feeling lucky, punk?
As the early eighties dawned, and new breed of impetuous, music loving mavericks came to the fore, these famous boots were handed to a new generation. Call it what you like - hard-core, psychobilly, industrial – but no collective genre of music is more allied to the Dr Marten than these denim-favouring heroes.
For the young ones
Perhaps the greatest ode to the boot’s enduring popularity came in classic eighties sitcom The Young Ones, when Alexei Sayle belted out a song entitled Dr Martens boots during the episode Oil. Watch it here
Pure nirvana
It wasn't until the nineties that the Dr Martens' impact would be so strongly felt again, naturally through the guise of music. Grunge was that genre and its legacy is still felt today.
Some things never change
Fast-forward to the noughties and Dr Martens are still worn by the biggest musical acts. Here Ellie Goulding apes that famous shot of Pete Townshend to flash her own pair. Nowhere near as good at the guitar, mind you.
The 1460 rebooted
Yes, you can now do as Townshend once did and don your own pair of 1460. Primed for another moment of glory this autumn, it still has the air-cushioned sole, Goodyear welt construction and durable smooth leather, and looks as great with tailoring as street-wear. We recommend you wear it suited (with cropped trouser leg) and booted.
