The very first pair of Dr Martens rolled of the production line on this day in history exactly 53 years ago, in Northampton. Sadly, the vast majority of Dr Martens are manufactured in Indonesia or Thailand these days. But that does not mean the whole range of this iconic British brand is being imported. The very same factory in Cobbs Lane, Northampton is still manufacturing small runs of their classic and more extravagant styles.
The Griggs family had been manufacturing shoes since the turn of the 20th century. It was in the 1950's when their fortunes changed after coming across two German business partners, Dr Maertens and Dr Funck, who were looking for international partners to take their innovative air-cushioned rubber soled boots to mass market. The Griggs family bought the patent and added a unique characteristics of the boots we know today, yellow stitching, new heel and added the trademarked AirWair to the air cushioned heel as well as 'anglicising' the name. The family started manufacturing the boots in their Northampton based factory.
The boots became the trademark to the subcultures of the time keen to rebel against their parents. In an era where style was everything and meticulous attention to detail was of prime importance. Dr Martens popularity amongst youth culture grew and grew with its popularity continuing to grunge era of the 1990's.
From an impressive and solid rise to popularity came the dark era of the brand. Popularity began to plummet at the start of this century. With the company even coming close to bankruptcy in 2003. It was at this point the brand made the difficult decision to move manufacture to Asia with a loss of over 1000 UK based jobs. But just a year later in 2004, the brand started manufacture in Cobbs Lane once again changing the direction of it's manufacture to iconic and unique styles.
Today the brand is going from strength to strength with the resurgence of the grunge trend in recent years and the ever evolving supernova of street style. Although the brand no longer solely manufactures here, you can still pick up some of their most classic and out there styles, of course, Made in Britain.
The Edit: Five of the Best Dr Martens
Dr Martens Vintage 1460 Boot, £190; Dr Martens Ailee Boot, £275; Dr Martens Vintage 1461 Shoe, £165; Dr Martens 1461 Shoe, £220; Dr Martens Mie 1461 Shoe, £100.
Shop the rest of the Made in England range. xo
