Authenticity: Our Authentic Soles.

I remember my first pair of Authentic Dr Martens (the shoe with the bouncing sole). When I ripped them out of their box to start breaking them in, I noticed an advertising flyer in the bottom of the box that read ‘if you walk a mile in another man’s shoes you will understand his pain. If you walk a mile in another man’s Dr Martens, you will never give them back.’

Over the years I have worn several different brands of shoes, and with every new pair I have had to break them in, and mould them into the shape of my personal footprint, making them unique and intrinsic to only myself. I have walked in several different places and the places I have walked are completely unique, and no one will ever be able to mimic my experiences - although they can wear the same shoes. These experiences are what make us all authentic, real and completely unique; they have become inseparable to our own personal identities, because it is our opinions, beliefs, values, emotions, feelings, and experiences that make us who we are. Our identities are the only thing left that is truly authentic.



Our inner soul (I use the term soul to mean our emotional and psychological attributes, rather than an attempt to spark debate about the existence of the human soul) is no longer what matters to the consumer culture. We already have two branded soles on our feet, why would we need another that takes time to understand? By electing to wear a pair of Dr. Martens I was attaching that brand to my physical identity. Since then I have associated with scores of objects that have been scrutinised and judged by other individuals. Our physical appearances are always on trial, and our external identities are based upon our relationship with objects, brands, and the symbols that they emanate. In this contemporary world everything
is consumed quickly: objects, information, images, attitudes, the general ethos of society; we all expect things to happen now. There is no longer time to walk a mile in another person’s shoes and truly discover their soul brand, because the only soul that matters in the consumer world is the brand name on our sole.








* This article was published in the June 2007 edition (issue 72) of Adbusters - The Journal of the Mental Environment.