Dr klaus maertens biography of michael
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Dr. Martens’ appeal to people who have their own individual style but share a united spirit – authentic characters who stand for something. On a stylistic level, Dr. Martens’ simple silhouettes allows their wearers to adopt the boots and shoes as part of their own individual and very distinctive style; on a practical level, their famous durability and bekvämlighet make them ideal for the unforgiving world of street fashion.
Starting in 1901, the Griggs family were known for making boots in the small town of Wollaston, Northamptonshire in the English Midlands. They were at the very heart of the English shoe industry and for six decades Griggs’ footwear earned a solid reputation as sturdy, durable work boots.
The story then switched to post-war Munich, 1945 and Dr. Klaus Maertens, a 25-year-old soldier. While convalescing from a broken foot he created a unique air-cushioned sole to aid his recovery. Using a salvaged cobbler’s last and a needle, Maertens made a proto
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Dr. Martens Fashion Story
Dr. Martens Starting in 1901, the Griggs family were known for making boots in the small town of Wollaston, Northamptonshire in the English Midlands. They were at the very heart of the English shoe industry and for six decades Griggs’ footwear earned a solid reputation as sturdy, durable work boots.
The story then switched to post-war Munich, 1945 and Dr. Klaus Maertens, a 25-year-old soldier. While convalescing from a broken foot he created a unique air-cushioned sole (rather than the traditional hard leather sole) to aid his recovery. Using a salvaged cobbler’s last and a needle, Maertens made a prototype shoe and showed it to an old university friend and mechanical engineer, Dr. Herbert Funk.
The two went into partnership by using disused military supplies to begin producing their unique shoes. By 1947 they began formal production and within a decade had a booming business, mostly selling to older women. In 1959, they decided it was ti
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'Doc Martens' (or 'DMs') boots had their beginnings during World War Two, when Dr Klaus Maertens was convalescing from a skiing accident in which he had injured his ankle, and produced a design for a cushion-soled shoe to relieve the pain of walking. With some help from a friend, Dr Herbert Funck, he made the prototype by heat-sealing old tyres for the sole: within two years the process had been patented and 'Dr Maertens' shoes were popular in a number of European countries. In 1960 Maertens and Funck agreed that a licence should be granted to the Northamptonshire firm of R Griggs & Co, to make the shoes on a larger commercial scale: at this point the Maertens name was anglicized, and the range branded as 'AirWair'. The resistant finish, allied with exceptionally tough and long-lasting uppers, led to the boots' popularity as workwear, but during the 1960s they went on to be associated with rebellious youth such as skinheads. Having become a design classic, they