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DR
Martens, Docs, DMs - whatever you call them, have been closely linked
to more musical movements and revolutions than any other item of fashion.
Mods worshipped their cherry reds, Goths just wanted black ones, Grebos
drew all over theirs (guilty) and the pope just wanted something in
the white.
Punks, psychobillys, skins, indie kids, grungers - the list is endless,
they even made it on to the feet of Will Smith in the Fresh Prince
of Bel Air for a couple of episodes. The success of DR Martens is
a fashion phenomenon, but refreshingly, not one that was planned.
Bunch of air soles
After DR Klaus Maerten's experience on the piste, he had the idea
of developing a shoe with an air cushioned sole to provide extra comfort
for his sore foot. He hooked up with an old college friend DR Herbert
Funck and they began to develop the idea further and before long the
first heat-sealed air-cushioned sole was born.
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| Punks
and DM wearers Rancid |
By the late 50s the shoe was selling well under the name of DR Maertens
in Germany but the two doctors were keen to explore new markets and
placed ads in trade magazines. One of which was spotted by Bill Griggs
whose Northamptonshire based company: R Griggs & Co, were looking
for something a bit different. The global rights to the air-cushioned
sole were secured and the company set to work on developing a range
of footwear to attach it to.
Features such as the yellow stitching and the pattern on the sole
were designed and on 1st April 1960, the first pair of 1460s walked
off the production line in Wollaston.
Why are they called 1460s? It's the date on which the first pair were
produced: 1st 4th 1960.
Air guitar
The classic 1460s went on to decorate some of the most celebrated
feet in the music industry and the world in general.
These include: Billy Bragg, Pete Townshend, Noddy Holder, Ian Dury,
Joe Strummer, Buster Bloodvessel, the boys in Madness all had a pair,
Robert Smith, Morrissey, PJ Harvey, Sinead O'Connor, Kurt Cobain,
Damon Albarn, Rancid, a crack SAS team wore them in the Falklands
War, The Pope as mentioned, and John Peel.
Songs in the key of Dm
In the 80s, DMs were immortalised in song. Forget your Kinky Boots
and your boots that were made for walking; the Dr Marten range had
arrived.
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| Suggs
from Madness |
Ok,
so it wasn't a real song, it was just Alexi Sale ranting around
in a episode of The Young Ones - but it still counts!
Similarly, not many shoes have helped launch a seperate fashion
label. When Red Or Dead launched their assault on the fashion world,
Wayne Hemmingway and his wife Geraldine customised DMs to sell on
their market stall in Camden. The rest, as they say, is history.
End of an era
The last pair of Dr Martens to be made in the UK rolled off the
production line on Friday, 28th March - almost 53 years to the day
since the first pair prepared to take the world by storm.
The boots will now be made in China due to production costs in the
UK. Few, if any, could have predicted the way a work boot would
have been embraced by so many subcultures across the world. Dr Marten;
we salute you.
I live
in the UK and for years we have worn DM's - my husband being in
the RAF started this as he brought a pair to replace his 'issue'
boots which were very hard! In time we have accumulated many pairs
and recently after being ill for a time I was promised a long awaited
visit to the DM's shop in Covent Garden, London where they have
5 floors of DM's!!
I looked
forward to this and have done while recuperating for months only
to find they have shut the shop. I am gutted! I had saved a bit
of money so I could pehaps afford two or maybe three pairs on my
birthday trip to London and
had even planned which ones to look for from looking on the net.
I wrote to the internet site yesterday as I couldn't locate the
shops position on a Covent Garden map and am now researching to
find a shop which has a nicer selection than the normal shops. I
then saw your article which I loved and thought I'd
drop you a line to just commiserate on the loss of a British tadition
- the Dm. I can't see them being the same when they are made in
China.
Gutted!
Sue
Hills (almost aged 45!)
Southend on Sea Essex ;-((
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The
word 'Docs' is officially recognised in the Oxford English
Dictionary - you won't get much of a score in scrabble for
it though.
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