A new chapter for the brand begins on 24 September, bringing together a renewed focus on Dr. Martens’ Icons, a global talent campaign, cultural programming anchored in ‘micro-joys’ and genres of fandom around the world, and a new series of designer collaborations.
Launching across four key expressions – a renewed focus on the Icons, a global campaign featuring die-hard Doc’s wearers, a programme of cultural experiences, and the ongoing Statements in Craft designer collaboration series – the With Bouncing Soles platform celebrates the people and passions that have shaped Dr. Martens for more than six decades, while creating new ways for a generation of wearers to make the brand their own.
With Bouncing Soles arrives dressed for the occasion. An evolved logo, a new typeface, a refined palette and a rebuilt website give the platform a visual identity of its own.
There’s a word that keeps coming up when you spend time inside the world of Dr. Martens. Not iconic, though that too, but enduring. The 1460 boot that rolled off the production line in Wollaston in 1960 is still instantly recognisable. The yellow welt stitch is still there. The air-cushioned sole still bounces. What has changed, constantly, is who is wearing them. And why.
Because Dr. Martens has never really been about just footwear. Across generations, its boots and shoes have become part of people’s lives: the musician who needed armour, the postie who needed support, the teenager who spotted someone else wearing the same pair and instantly thought, you too. That sense of recognition and belonging has always been part of the Dr. Martens story.
At the heart of With Bouncing Soles is one question: “What Makes Your Sole Bounce?”
The campaign name itself has been hiding in plain sight for 65 years. With Bouncing Soles has appeared on the heel loop of every 1460 boot since 1960, originally as a reference to the brand’s air-cushioned sole. Now, those three words become the creative thread connecting Dr. Martens’ heritage with its future – and the generations of people who have given the brand its meaning.
“With Bouncing Soles has been stitched into some of our most iconic boots and shoes since production started in 1960. Today it becomes the creative thread that connects the people who have shaped Dr. Martens with a new generation discovering the brand for themselves. It’s an invitation for people to celebrate creativity, individuality and the confidence to express who they are. What makes a bouncing sole? In some ways, taking the time to ask is just as important as the answer.” – Neil Cummings, Global Brand Creative Director
THE FACES OF WITH BOUNCING SOLES
The AW26 campaign features Chloë Sevigny, Jordan Stephens and Naomi Watanabe, alongside a wider cast of community voices and cultural changemakers, including UK rapper LedByHer.
These aren’t people chosen simply to represent Dr. Martens. They are genuine wearers, each with their own answer to “What Makes Your Sole Bounce?” – the creative obsession, deep interest or personal pursuit they would follow whether anyone was watching or not.
For Jordan Stephens, that answer is language: the pursuit of finding the words that can communicate something true, and the fleeting feeling of being understood. For LedByHer, it’s her devotion to her hometown and the people in it. Each story is told in their own words, on their own terms.
“I’ve worn Dr. Martens at different moments throughout my life, so being part of this campaign feels genuinely authentic. What makes my sole bounce? Words. They continue to open up new ways of seeing, feeling and understanding the world. I love that the campaign plays with the idea of sole and soul because creativity often lives in those layers of meaning. Dr. Martens has always been a symbol of individuality and self-expression, and I’m proud to support a platform that celebrates the people and spaces keeping culture alive.” – Jordan Stephens
“I’ve always been drawn to pieces that become more personal the longer you live in them, and Dr, Martens has always represented that for me. I love that the campaign starts with such a simple question: What Makes Your Sole Bounce? For me, it’s staying curious – taking on new roles, finding inspiration in unexpected places, and always being open to what’s next.” – Chloë Sevigny
ICONS, REIMAGINED
At the heart of the product story are five of Dr. Martens’ most recognisable silhouettes – the 1460 boot, 1461 shoe, Adrian loafer, 2976 Chelsea boot and 8065 Mary Jane – reimagined in Crazy Horse leather, including a new Cherry Red finish for AW26. The 1460, 1461 and 8065 Mary Jane will also be available in new DM’s Green editions.
Known for developing character over time, Crazy Horse leather embodies the idea at the heart of the platform: no two stories, or pairs, are ever the same. Every wearer leaves their mark, with the leather evolving alongside them.
EVENTS AND ‘MICRO-JOYS’ ACROSS THE COUNTRY
With Bouncing Soles is designed, fundamentally, as a platform for participation – events with in-built ‘bounce’ will be staged around the world. In the UK, the programme opens at the Dr. Martens store on Brewer Street in London’s Soho, which becomes a working cultural space for the weeks that follow.
Lala Books, the independent bookshop from Camberwell, installs an honesty library co-curated with Jordan Stephens, and returns in October to host a book club. Poetry collective Adult Entertainment stages an intergenerational dub poetry night. So Young magazine teaches the near-lost craft of the fanzine – cut, stick, copy, bind. Steeze Factory takes the store over for a night of live cyphers, SNL anchor Paddy Young turns the store into a comedy club for a night, and three Substack writers open their notebooks for one-to-one clinics with anyone hoping to make a living from words.
In October the programme travels north to Manchester, where craft and community hub Altogether Otherwise opens ‘Suddenly Real’, a free drop-in poster shop for the city’s makers – made possible by Doc’s, and subculture zine Dance Policy stages ‘The Manchester Bounce’ – a day and a night tracing the city’s soundsystem history through exhibition, conversation and a club floor, all at beloved nightlife venue SOUP. STATEMENTS IN CRAFT
Collaboration has been part of the Dr. Martens story since the very first boot; a meeting of two German doctors and a British bootmaker that produced something none of them could have made alone.
Statements in Craft continues that tradition, bringing together British-based fashion innovators to explore craft, process and what happens when distinct creative identities collide with an icon. The series begins with MHL., Sage Nation, Chopova Lowena and LABRUM.
THE STORY CONTINUES
With Bouncing Soles isn’t a campaign with an end date. It is an ongoing question that will continue through future collections, collaborations, retail experiences and cultural moments.
The question stays the same.
The answers keep changing.
The campaign launches globally on 24 September 2026, with the Crazy Horse Icons collection available from Dr. Martens stores, drmartens.com and selected Dr. Martens stockists.
