Dr. Martens: Laced with history

A closer look at the history and politics of the iconic leather boot

Fringe ArtsRebekah Walker — Published March 18, 2025 6 minutes

From the classic black combat boot with signature yellow stitching to chunky platforms, loafers and mary janes that come in a range of patterns, Docs are a timeless item. However, as the brand continues to thrive in mainstream fashion, their controversial history is often undiscussed. 

The brand traces its origins to Klaus Märtens, a young German soldier who developed its signature air-cushioned sole in 1945. Märtens designed the boot to aid injured soldiers returning from the front, meaning the first people to benefit from them were, inevitably, German troops—including Nazis. While Märtens’s personal political beliefs remain unrecorded, this aspect of the boots’ history raises questions, particularly among its modern wearers, many of whom belong to leftist and anti-fascist subcultures. 

For some Docs wearers, the irony of this history only adds to the appeal. 

“That makes it better,” said Logan Carroll, a Montreal student and longtime Docs wearer. “I would love to have that shithead see that his boots have become synonymous with anarchism, communism and antifascism.” 

From factories to the punk scene

Docs transformed in 1959 when British company R. Griggs Group Ltd. purchased Märtens’s patent and introduced them to the U.K. Designed as sturdy, practical workwear, they became popular among the working class, especially factory workers, postal employees and police officers. By the 1970s and ‘80s, Docs had been adopted by a host of British subcultures, from punk to goth to grunge.

The U.K.’s punk scene, in particular, turned the boots into a symbol of working-class resistance. More than just footwear, Docs were decorated, patched and stitched together by the community. 

Punks often used the boots to signal anti-fascist, socialist and anarchist politics, but their rising popularity also created an uneasy crossover with the skinhead movement.

Not all skinheads were fascists—many of the early British skinhead groups were multi-racial and working-class—but by the late ‘70s, neo-Nazi factions had co-opted the aesthetic. Many skinhead groups adhere to racist, homophobic and fascist ideologies and are known for their violence. This aesthetic overlap led to confusion about who was punk and who was not. 

I would love to have that shithead see that his boots have become synonymous with anarchism, communism and antifascism. — Logan Carroll

Maya Khalil, a local Docs wearer and member of the Montreal punk scene, blames the English punk rock band, the Sex Pistols, for this white supremacist affiliation.

“[The band] wore a lot of swastikas, and they wore it as a shock value—in their mind it was a shock value,” Khalil said. “But it ended up biting them in their ass, because the neo-Nazis misunderstood it as an invitation. They were very anti-Nazi, [...] but didn't understand the history they were playing with.”

Many neo-Nazi skinhead groups exist in North America today, organising and recruiting through internet groups on Facebook and Reddit. As subcultures became harder to distinguish, new ways to outwardly express political ideology became necessary. 

The lace code

The punk-skinhead confusion led to the rise of lace code—a silent way to signal political allegiances. Punks laced their boots in specific colours to separate themselves from far-right groups. Today, lace code is still used, though its meaning has shifted over time.

Historically, lace code was used solely—pun intended—in punk scenes, with its meaning passed down through experience rather than formal documentation. Today, much of this knowledge is codified online on Tumblr user safety-pin-punk’s blog post, “Punk 101: Lace Code.” The post serves as one of the few online guides for discerning lace code.

Different lace colours also mean different things. Khalil wears yellow laces, signifying anti-racism. Logan Carroll, meanwhile, wears purple to indicate they are a member of the queer community. Black remains the neutral, standard choice, while red and white laces have historically been associated with far-right movements—red with neo-Nazism and white with white supremacy. 

Lace code is still a way for some Docs-wearing youth to pay homage to their punk predecessors. Carroll uses lace code because they think “it's a neat piece of history” and “a vital part of punk’s history.” 

Montreal Docs wearer Inès Marchand agrees. 

“It’s fun and very much more punk than anything,” Marchand said. 

However, they caution against leaping into lace-code without prior research. 

“Many things that we think are mundane actually have a lot of meaning,” Marchand said. “Before you buy colours, look it up on Tumblr first!” 

Most Docs wearers today are unaware of lace code or simply aren’t concerned with it—proof of the boots’ shift from a political symbol to a fashion item. 

Reclaiming the boot or diluting its meaning?

As Dr. Martens have moved into the mainstream, their radical roots have been diluted. In the early 2000s, the brand began losing its popularity and faced financial collapse, with factories closing and profits dropping exponentially. This led to a marketing overhaul, including celebrity endorsements and brand collaborations that introduced the boot to a wider, often apolitical audience. 

Despite this, Annie Proteau, store manager at the Dr. Martens store on Ste. Catherine St.—one of just three in Canada—has noticed that most clientele are still “wanting the classics.” She has people calling from other cities looking for original styles like the 20-eyelet boots.

For wearers like Marchand, though, the commercialisation of Docs is frustrating. They explain that Docs are worn as an aesthetic choice by those with no connection to the LGBTQIA2S+ community or the boots’ political past. 

“It’s annoying because they don’t represent the community well; they make it simply aesthetic,” Marchand said.

She explained that, while Docs used to signify a safe space for alternative, socialist and anti-fascist politics, today, this is not always the case. 

Ignorance contributes widely to the aestheticized and mainstream use of Docs in Montreal. While many people, like Carroll, Khalil and Marchand, wear the boots to signal their identity within the LGBTQIA2S+ community, a lack of research could land them on the wrong side of Docs culture. 

Khalil emphasized the need for intentionality and awareness. 

“If you know something is harmful, or was once harmful, why perpetuate it?” Khalil said.

They also caution against shaming those who aren’t aware of the boots’ history.

“It's important to know your history, but not everyone has the luxury or the interest to look into the history,” Khalil said. “As myself an educator, I hate seeing [shaming]. I don't see it as productive. You can’t encourage someone to learn by shaming them or alienating them.” 

Fashion has always been, and will continue to be, a method of political self-expression, especially in metropolitan areas like Montreal. And Dr. Martens are no exception. The boots’ history with anti-fascist and fascist subcultures alike, combined with their modern mainstream popularity, make them a difficult symbol to navigate. 

Nonetheless, function, fashion and anti-facism appear to be the root causes for Dr. Martens’ unwavering fan base in Montreal. 

“Fashion, whether you like it or not, historically has always been very political,” Marchand said. “It still is, or at least should be.”

This article originally appeared in Volume 45, Issue 11, published March 18, 2025.