Most of us can remember the grungy fashion staple of the 90s; the black doc with its’ characteristic canary yellow stitching. Recently it has gone though a makeover with Agyness Deyn the new face of the brand, launching the First and Forever campaign. Here we have a look at its evolution over the years, from grunge to everyday staple.

The iconic shoes were created by a German named Klaus Märtens in the 1945, who hurt his ankle skiing and need shoes with better ankle support. The original 14 hole lace-ups were modelled on army boots but were made with softer leather and had a air-padded sole. They were a huge success in Germany among housewives in the 1950′s due their incredibly soft soles. When Märtens began exporting his shoes overseas in the 1960′s with British company Griggs taking up production, they Anglicized the model; changing the shape of the heel, adding yellow stitching, making it an 8 hole lace-up and changing the colour to a brown/red, known as Oxblood. The model, known as 1460 (still produced today) was popular first among factory workers, police and postmen.

It wasn’t until the 1970′s that Dr Martens began to take shape as a fashion statement, as a popular footwear choice amongst the punk movement at the time, with the fashion aspect driven by Vivienne Westwood. Then other youth subcultures like “goths” in the 1980s and 90s. It was during this time when the brand released a series of print ads that featured all kinds of kooky ads that featured children dressed up as goths, wearing Dr Martens.

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