Most people think of Dr Martens as the maker of men's work-boots
, in reality the first commercial products that they made were popular with German housewives. Because they were on their feet all day it was the air-padded soles that attracted them.At first, 80% of his clients were women.
The inventor was Klaus Martens who whilst in the German army found that the boots provided aggravated an old skiing injury, so ended up making himself a special pair of boots to ease the pain. After the war he teamed up with Dr Herbert Funck to develop the design and made the first pair of Dr Martens to sell to the public.
By 1952 production was so high that they opened their first factory in Munich and began selling their shoes internationally in 1959. Part of this drive for international sales involved selling patent rights to R Giggs in the UK who produced and successfully marketed them there.
R Giggs re-branded the soles as AirWair, added yellow stitching and changed the shape of the heel. They sold their first pair on 1 April 1960. They were cherry red with 8 eye-holes for the laces, a style that are still sold today.
Initially, Dr Martens were only popular with postmen, policemen and workers that were on their feet a lot during the day. By the late 60s they had begun to be worn by skinheads. In the 70s Punk Rockers started wearing them too. Over time they have also become the footwear of choice amongst other groups of young wearers.
Today, they produce many types of footwear in addition to their boots and safety shoes range. Widening their range has given them truly universal appeal again. Until 2003, they even produced a shoe that was made without any animal products to appeal to the vegan market. After 50 years you can rely on Dr Martens to continue to innovate whilst continuing to make to manufacture their classic models. In another 50 years people will definitely still be wearing their footwear.