Now one of the most culturally relevant brands of modern times, Dr. Martens were originally a workwear boot which were even sold as gardening shoes at one stage.
Since 1901, the Griggs family had been known for making boots in the Northamptonshire town of Wollaston, with their footwear earning a reputation for being sturdy and durable work boots. In 1945, in post-war Munich, a 25-year-old soldier, Dr Klaus Maertens, created a unique air-cushioned sole to aid his recovery from a broken foot.
He made a prototype shoe and showed it to an old university friend and mechanical engineer, Dr Herbert Funk. The two went into partnership and used disused military supplies to begin producing their unique footwear.
They had begun formal production by 1974 and had a booming business within a decade. In 1959, they decided to advertise their product in overseas magazines. In England, the advert caught the eye of Bill Griggs, who was helping to run the family business.
An exclusive licence was acquired and a few changes made - including an altered heel, a bulbous upper, a distinctive yellow stitch, a two-tone, grooved sole edge and a unique sole pattern. The boots were branded as Airwair and, taking its name from the date of its inception - April 1st, 1960 - the 1460 Dr. Martens boot was born.
The radical atmosphere of the 1960s witnessed extravagant and sometimes toxic fashion, and while Dr. Martens boots had initially been worn by postmen and factory workers, they suddenly became popular with skinheads, who championed British working class style. The Who's Pete Townshend became the first high profile person to wear them, helping to change the course of the brand's history.
By the end of the 1970s, the boot had become a fierce symbol of self-expression for British youth culture, while the 80s saw an increasing number of girls wearing and often customising them. The brand became synonymous with festival culture the following decade, while the dawning of the new millennium saw a company which had been forced to close all but one of its UK factories revitalised, thanks in part to high-fashion designers customising the classic 1460 boot.
