Step inside the new Dr Martens flagship on Brewer Street and you’ll gain more than just a new pair of yellow-stitch shoes. As well as shoes to buy, the 3400 square-foot space, which took nine months to build, holds a cafe, a zone hosting pop-ups, and a restoration and customisation service. And while it signals the brand’s intentions for the future and its desire to build community, it’s also about telling a story about its past. That history is referenced throughout the space, including via PVC leather made in the brand’s original UK factory in Northampton that covers seats and benches. The store also features burgundy tiles by the same company that supplies the London Underground.
“Dr Martens has always been a home to so many different types of people across the decades, and we want this space to feel like a physical manifestation of that,” says Neil Cummings, Dr Martens’s global brand creative director. “Walking through the door, you’re never looked over or up and down. It’s somewhere you can come in and spend a couple of hours and dive into the different stories around the store.”
Upstairs, the Doctor’s Orders cafe nods to the old-school cafe of the same name that was at the top of the German footwear marque’s four-floor emporium on Covent Garden’s in the ’90s.
“It was a really experimental era for the brand,” Cummings says of the space. “We’ve reinterpreted that as it felt right for Brewer Street, but ultimately, it's a place to relax and hang and really embody the sentiments and the spirit of the store as well.”
While the WC2 cafe plated up greasy spoon staples, this canteen serves food by London social enterprises, spelled out on a lightbox menu in retro red lettering. Dalston’s Dusty Knuckle bakery (which employs at-risk youths and provide them with training) supplies toasties and Hackney’s Luminary Bakery (which employs and supports disadvantaged women) bakes the cafe’s cakes. Nemi Teas and Old Spike Roastery have hot drinks sorted. The cafe’s design riffs on old-school diners and caffs, with a red-fronted counter with stainless steel top. A nearby magazine rack holds publications like Dazed and Another for customers to flip through while they’re sipping their flat whites.
Back on ground floor is a cylindrical space in the centre of the room made with repurposed wood from community halls and music venues. With a seat in its middle, it’s designed for trying on shoes, but feels more like a hangout spot. Nearby, there’s a small shed hosting exclusive pop-ups, including a current residency from London art studio Second Best, which is showcasing a limited run of hand-painted Made in England (a range made in the company’s original Northamptonshire factory) boots. The Alt Craft Bar offers boot restorations, customisation services and a rolling programme of “crafters in residence” who bring specialised boot art and bespoke craft to the space. Cummings recommends customers “peek through drawers” and nooks within the space to uncover more of the brand’s story. Along with the brand’s classic ranges, the store also stocks limited-edition collaborations with labels like Rick Owens and MM6.
A year-long programme of workshops and events – including gigs, art classes, film screenings and more – doubles down on the DM’s intentions of harnessing a community here, which Cummings notes is needed more than ever. “Docs has always, and always will be, an extremely inclusive brand. I think that when in the media, we’ve started to see that being eroded in certain conversations, it’s important that we stand up as a community and draw people together. Our brand is a table that welcomes everyone.”
Dr Martens Brewer Street
39 Brewer Street, W1F 9UD
Hours:
Mon to Sat 11am–7pm
Sun 11am–6pm
