Dr. Martens

Origins

Klaus Maertens was a doctor in the German army during World War II. While on leave in 1945, he injured his ankle while skiing in the Bavarian Alps. He found that his standard-issue army boots were too uncomfortable on the injured foot. While recuperating, he designed improvements to the boots, with soft leather, and air-padded soles. When the war ended and some Germans looted valuables from their own cities, Dr. Maertens took leather from a cobbler's shop. With that leather he made himself a pair of boots with the now-famous air-cushioned soles.

Maertens didn't have much luck selling his shoes until he met up with an old university friend, Dr. Herbert Funck, in Munich in 1947. Funck was intrigued by the new shoe design, and the two went into business that year in Seeshaupt, Germany, using discarded rubber from Luftwaffe airfields. The comfortable and durable soles were a big hit with housewives; 80 percent of sales in the first decade were to women over the age of 40.

Sales had grown so much by 1952 that they opened a factory in Munich. In 1959, the company had grown large enough that Maertens and Funck looked at marketing the footwear internationally. Almost immediately, British shoe manufacturer R. Griggs Group Ltd. bought patent rights to manufacture the shoes in the United Kingdom. Griggs Anglicised the name, slightly re-shaped the heel to make them fit better, added the trademark yellow stitching, and trademarked the soles as AirWair.

Popularity in United Kingdom

The first Dr. Martens in the United Kingdom came out on April 1, 1960, with an 8-eyelet, cherry-red, Nappa leather design. They were popular among workers like postmen, policemen and factory laborers. By the late 1960s, skinheads took notice of Dr. Martens boots, and street gangs made the cherry-red boots a trademark style.

By the mid 1970s, Dr. Martens boots were popular among some British punk rock stars, and soon it seemed that most punk fans were wearing them. The boots and shoes then became popular among some other youth subcultures. Dr. Martens have been the subject of a song by Alexei Sayle and have appeared on the cover art for a Madness box set The Business.

Later developments

In the 2000s, Dr. Martens are sold exclusively under the AirWair name, and come in dozens of different styles, including conventional black shoes, sandals and steel-toed boots. On April 1, 2003, the Dr. Martens company ceased all production in the United Kingdom, eliminating over 1,000 British jobs. All Dr. Martens footwear then became produced in China and Thailand. With this change also came the end of the company's vegetarian-friendly non-leather products (which were produced since January, 2000). The Vegetarian Shoes company has an Airseal line, which includes non-leather footwear similar to Dr. Martens products. Meanwhile, many punks and skinheads have turned to competing manufacturers' boots such as Grinders, Gripfast, and Rangers.

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