The Drapers award for Footwear Designer of the Year is the benchmark for talent in the industry; its candidates should be designers whose work demonstrates the resilience and inventiveness needed to honour the award’s past and embrace the future of design: I believe _____ is such a candidate. A multi-talented designer, _____ makes expert use of print, colour and a keen eye for detail in endlessly inventive and playfully subversive designs, attaching her unique signature to the Dr Martens iconic product every season. A natural sartorial storyteller, she not only uses our boots as a canvas to tell Doc’s compelling narratives, but to enchant the wider footwear market.

_____ ’s career at Dr Martens began five years ago, and its story is a dark design fairy-tale. Following the completion of a BA in Graphic Design at Middlesex University, she initially applied to her dream brand, Doc’s, in 2017. Though that post was filled by a lead designer, _____ ’s portfolio–including a lithography zine showcasing her passion for the heavy metal band Black Sabbath– made such a profound and lasting impression on then-creative director, Damien Wilson, that when the team expanded two years later, he invited her to apply for the role of assistant print designer. We’re delighted he did–since joining the team, _____ ’s influence on the visual language of Dr Martens’ product is clear to see. 

One such example of her work, which also showcases her keen awareness of the Doc’s consumer, is our recent “Celestial Moths” pack; _____ ’s exquisite hand drawn moths are embroidered in white across the supple black leather of our iconic 1460 boot and our Jaydon platform with starry, celestial accents. With sell through of nearly 30k pairs across the globe, the success of this pack demonstrates _____ ’s blend of creativity and commerciality; she understands consumer needs and builds stories that acknowledge market trends, but her unique style is always filtered through the aperture of the Dr Martens brand.

This balance– between individuality and teamwork, creativity and innovation, commercial potential and authentic craft– is what makes _____ ’s contribution so special. She works collaboratively with many departments in mutually beneficial ways; for example, she works with our development teams to alter, innovate, embellish and repurpose our iconic leathers for future markets, pushing the boundaries by exploring new print and embroidery techniques. Perhaps an apt metaphor for her skillset as a whole, _____ also adds value to the most basic raw materials; the “Wild Serpent” 1460 boot she created from hand showcases her original and rare gifts as an illustrator.

Despite being often overlooked, CMF designers play a crucial role; if Design is a language, Colour, Materials and Print are its vocabulary. In a world where AI-aided design is blurring the lines between what is authentic and what is generated, _____ ’s embrace of innovation in the pursuit of creating beauty in a considered and crafted way is what makes her stand out from other designers, and in my view, makes her an ideal candidate for Footwear Designer of the Year.