Clothing and footwear that have become special features of radical groups

Since the dawn of street culture, brands have helped groups with dubious reputations build their identity against their wishes. Thus, Fred Perry polo is associated with racists, Dr. Martens will not get rid of the cliché of “skinhead shoes”, and the Nike Cortez model is still associated with criminal gangs rather than Forrest Gump.

Dr. Martens

Klaus Martens created the first boots in 1947, but they became really popular only in the 60’s. Subcultures, including skinheads, gave a huge jump to the brand. At that time they had just appeared and called themselves Hard Mods.

Hard Mods listened to ska music and wore short haircuts, sideburns and dark red Dr. Martens as distinctive features. Besides being functional, the boots had a rough appearance that suited the whole look. They were specially rubbed with black shoe polish to age them, and the Martens had to be “culturally initiated” by getting blood on them.

All this led to the Martins becoming a symbol of violence for a long period of time. The company shrugs off this page of its history, but the creator’s affiliation with the Wehrmacht and some marketing scandals do not allow to turn it over. In 2015, the company released a promotional brochure featuring boots with iron socks.

Almost immediately after the launch, skinheads made the boots their favorite weapon.

– This description accompanied the brochure and caused a major uproar. The company apologized, explaining that “the first wave of skinheads was non-violent, represented by the working class. Later, anti-migrant, racist and Nazi sentiments took over the movement.”

Then the company went through several more scandals, which did not reflect well on the sales of the brand. However, Dr. Martens made a bet on strengthening its values, and this slightly leveled the information field around the company. The brand supported the Black Lives Matter movement and donated $125,000 to organizations advocating for racial justice.

Nike Cortez

Each of the big criminal gangs in the ’70s chose a sneaker brand that became part of their identity. The shoes were almost the only distinguishing feature by which a member of their gang could be identified. This, in turn, led to a series of murders of random passersby who walked into a stranger’s neighborhood wearing the “wrong shoes.”

Members of the African-American Crips gang wore Converse, the Bloods gang favored Reebok, and the Nike Cortez model became iconic throughout the Mexican Mafia. It happened because of the name. If you think about it, you can see a parallel with the conquistador Hernan Cortez, who conquered the Aztec Empire.

This model became part of the uniform of members of the most violent and powerful Latin American gang Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13, the number of which is more than 50 thousand people. It is one of the most powerful gangs in American prisons. As a sign of loyalty, gang members wore Nike Cortez and khaki pants.

These sneakers cost only 25 bucks, any gangster could afford them, so they became popular among gangsters and looked intimidating. In the 90’s these sneakers were banned in schools. Even the police could arrest those who wore such a pair. In 2017, the leader of the gang instructed all members to stop wearing “cortezes” because they had become unconditionally associated with the gang and attracted too much attention.

Black and yellow Fred Perry polo shirt

The story began back in the middle of the twentieth century. Back then, Fred Perry polos were associated with the skinhead movement, originally opposed to fascism. Since then, polos have been used by right-wing movements around the world, many of which are still influential. For example, the Proud Boys, an organization founded in 2016 and recognized by the FBI as an extremist group. The hallmark of their style is black and yellow Fred Perry polos.

Aware of the so-called skinhead heritage, Fred Perry has always been looking to broaden its appeal. That’s why the company signed Andy Murray and the late Amy Winehouse to model their products and appeal to a wider audience.

The British brand has always opposed the use of its items by far-right groups. This is because amidst the entrenched class consciousness, English white children from working-class families began to emphasize their exclusivity with clothes associated with the British upper class.

Fred Perry withdrew black and yellow polos from sale in the United States and Canada until “they were no longer associated with an extremist group.” However, the brand has replaced this color palette with a very similar combination in Black/Champagne.