These Dr. Martens x Keith Haring boots will add a pop of playful punk to your life
Dr. Martens is known for its plentiful, versatile collaborations with the noteworthy and a little bit punk (see Raf Simons, Yohji Yamamoto) and the quirky, colorful crowd-pleasers (re: Hello Kitty). Now the company has released a collection that satisfies a little bit of both: The U.K. footwear maker debuted a four-piece capsule featuring the work of late American street artist Keith Haring. Haring’s unmistakable, bold line art graces two of the brand’s most popular and decades-old silhouettes: the 1460 boot and 1461 oxford.
Classic Dr. Martens details—bright yellow heel-loops and stitching and bouncy rubber soles—were paired with instantly recognizable Haring details such as illustrated sock liners, lace charms, and colorful heel art. Dr. Martens’s global brand director, Darren McCoy, says the designers chose their more simple smooth leather shoe shapes to give space for Haring’s art to take center stage. The brand decided to incorporate Haring’s most iconic and symbolic characters–including Radiant Baby and a series of dancers—to celebrate their parallel missions to “support youth culture and their sense of self-expression.” The four boots and shoes are available in both adult and youth sizing.
Haring, who died in 1990, was known for his fearless activism through art and advocacy for the LGBTQ community and AIDS awareness. It marks Dr. Martens’s second consecutive year highlighting boundary-pushing artists’ legacies: a small collection featuring the influential work of Jean-Michel Basquiat debuted in July.
The line arrives in tandem with the Keith Haring Estate and Uniqlo’s colorful collaboration inspired by the artist’s Tokyo Pop Shop in the ’80s. The 10-style T-shirt and hoodie collection is available now.
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