Doc Martens are a staple for many people in today’s fashion. But did you know that Klaus Martens, the founder of the shoe, created the boot after serving in the German army during World War II?
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Who Is Klaus Martens?
Klaus Marten, a common transliteration of his name, is the inventor of Doc Martens and was a doctor in the German Army during World War II. In the year 1945, Marten, at age 25, returned to Madrid after the war with an injured foot.
After sporting his standard-issue Army boots with his injured ankle for a while, Martens found them to be extremely uncomfortable and harmful to his broken foot. So, with the help of Dr. Herbert Funk, Martens created boots that were more comfortable and practical.
Klaus Martens created an air-cushioned sole rather than the traditional leather sole of a boot. This air-cushioned sole helped aid his injured foot and speed up his recovery. He gathered soft leather from a nearby cobbler’s shop and put it together to create the soft leather and air-cushioned boots – the very first edition of what would later become the iconic Doc Martens.
After creating the prototype, Klaus Martens brought it to his old college friend, Dr. Herbert Funk, who was a mechanical engineer. Funk and Martens then became partners and used old military supplies to help move the shoe into production.
Their formal shoe production began in 1947, which, within a decade, became a booming business whose top customers were older women. It wasn’t until 1959 when Doc Martens (“Nazis boots,” as they’ve also been referred to due to Martens’s allegiance to the German army) were advertised outside of Germany.
What Were Doc Martens Originally Made For?
Originally, Doc Martens were meant to be work boots, as they were created to substitute standard-issue German army boots. In 1959, R. Griggs Group, a British shoe manufacturer, bought the rights to the Doc Martens boots. The company was owned by Bill Griggs, who created a new boot with the idea of the original sole Klaus Martens created.
Griggs designed the boot to have an altered sole shape, a grooved sole edge, a bulging yet simple upper sole design, a new under sole design, and the infamous yellow welt stitch. He then rebranded the original Doc Marten “Nazi” boots, and the soles were marketed as “Airwair.”
The boots had a black and yellow loop on the heel that featured the brand name and slogan, “With bouncing soles!”
Who Popularized Doc Martens?
The boots were soon being sold to Britain’s working class and were advertised as work boots. After a couple of years, the boots got picked up by the youth of Britain who loved the working-class style.
Doc Martens were then popularized by a famous musician in The Who. Pete Townshend, guitarist for the rock band, was the first high-profile person to wear the boots as a symbol of rebellion and working-class pride and support.
The entertainer’s support and advertisement of the brand then changed the brand’s legacy from Klaus Martens’s original idea of being just a working-class shoe to having the boots be a fashion worldwide essential.
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Image: Harry Wedzinga – stock.adobe.com
