Dr. Martens Rebrand: Everything Old (& Not Old) Is New Again
Waxed leather, yellow stitching, a grooved sole… a pair of Dr. Martens is unmistakable. Over an almost 65-year-long history, the English shoemaker has established itself through sturdy, no-nonsense leather shoes recognized worldwide.
But it’s time to forget everything you know about Dr. Martens.
On October 1, the brand wiped its Instagram account and then posted a video of a Dr. Martens-wearing model being blasted with air from a huge fan.
“We are rebooting,” reads the video’s accompanying message. “Please remove all preconceptions for the remainder of this journey.” Clearly, this is the language of a company looking to rebrand.
The cryptic reboot message signals the beginning of a new era for the footwear maker, but there’s been a renewed energy slowly building around Dr. Martens for a while now.
The Dr. Martens 14XX line launched in late 2023 as an experimental-leaning line informed by the historic British label's workwear origins.
“Our design team is hungrier than ever for experimentation and to explore uncharted territories in terms of product innovation,” Darren McKoy, Dr. Martens’ Global Creative Director, told Highsnobiety ahead of the sub-label's launch. Thus far, 14XX drops have ranged from technical, modular designs to shoes with soles in places they usually aren't.
The 14XX line doesn’t always look like the simple boots Dr. Martens made when it was founded. But that's the point.
Rather than 14XX solely being an outlet for more experimental Docs, 14XX is a testing ground of sorts for the company's mainline fare, pushing its in-house shoes to become as adventurous as the limited-edition collaborations that typically allow no-holes-barred experimentation.
Dr. Martens has always dabbled in innovation — its ongoing Central Saint Martins partnership being perhaps the most notable and consistent example — but its seasonal, general-release shoes have been a surprising source of eye-catching oddities in recent months.
For instance, along with a newfound emphasis on the Isham Mule, recently issued in a deliciously textured finish, Dr Martens has prioritized unusual silhouettes like a grungy chunked-up "boat shoe" released over the summer.
In both cases, these are objectively unusual footwear propositions from a brand best-known for plain black boots. But they are also objectively stylish.
Dr. Martens has previously skewed convention with team-ups like 2021's Suicoke sandals and this year's Margiela derbies. However, whereas these statement-making releases used to be uncommon (and solely collaborative), the brand is now producing weird, wonderful week after week.
Not that Dr Martens' heritage is being forgotten.
Almost immediately after wiping its Instagram account, Dr Martens launched a bumper "Boots Like No Other" campaign celebrating its most iconic shoe, the 1460 boot.
“As a brand rooted in innovation and inspired by workwear, the 1460 is a special silhouette to all of us,” says Joel Wilson, Design Lead at AMP, Dr. Martens, via email. “You can expect to see a lot more of it – new styles, new iterations, and new colors.”
That's the thing: even with a deep appreciation for the classics, Dr Martens is suddenly all about the new.
