A-COLD-WALL* X DR. MARTENS
On most people’s shoe rotation certainly lies a pair of Docs. An all-time favourite, it’s become one of those products which its brand name has entered our everyday vocabulary, like Sharpies or Post-Its. They’re classics, and so when the brand decided they wanted to reinterpret their renowned shoe with a contemporary twist, it comes as no surprise that visionary and British utilitarian designer Samuel Ross was handed the mandate.
For their second time around, the partnership between Dr. Martens and Samuel Ross takes on the 1461 model and turns it into a more architectural and functional version as, after all, this is what Ross does. The designer made a name for himself by reinterpreting menswear staples through the lens of a modern, brutalist approach. This, though, doesn’t mean that the foundation he works with get erased nor fully broken down. His take on Docs, actually, shows how the designer manages to merge both time-honoured designs with forward-looking ones.
The 1461 by Ross still alludes to the working-class heritage from which Dr. Martens arose, but the designer has replaced the shoe’s usual vulcanised sole for a transparent Iced sole and although he kept the iconic stitching at the midsole, it’s become bronze rather than the trademarked yellow stitches. Detailing have been added throughout, too, such as contrasting white stitching at the upper edges, metallic rivet hardware, a tonal AirWair heel loop, as well as a silver-tone sign-off A-COLD-WALL*.
The 1461 ACW* drops today, November 4th, at a-cold-wall.com /
