Nine Inch Nails‘ iconic second album, The Downward Spiral, turned 30 back in March, and they’ve teamed up with Dr. Martens for a new collection of boots and shoes to mark the occasion. Dr. Martens calls it “a physical response to Nine Inch Nails’ visceral, ground-breaking album” and say that all three silhouettes incorporate “industrial design references.” They include the 8-eye 1460 boot, with a black and white version of Russell Mills’ “Wound” from the cover art; the 3-eye 1461 shoe in black with a “Crystal Teeth” design from the album; and the extra-tall black 10-eye 1490 boot, which they say is “inspired by the band’s uninhibited live shows where they would cover themselves in cornstarch for a decayed, post-apocalyptic aesthetic.”
John Crawford, NIN’s Creative Director, told Hypebeast, “This collaboration just makes so much sense. Not just because of the countless fans I’ve seen wearing Dr. Martens at NIN concerts over the years (myself included), but because NIN and Dr. Martens are both known for rejecting convention and expectation in favor of innovation.”
Crawford continued, “Once we decided the collection would be themed around The Downward Spiral, we knew we’d have the advantage of using elements from Russell Mills’ incredible paintings that were created for the album’s packaging … We hid the repeating text ‘Nothing can stop me now’ – a mantra from the album – behind the zipper.”
The collection will be available starting on July 19 from Dr. Marten’s website and other select retailers.
Earlier this year, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross talked about their big plans: for a new Nine Inch Nails album, a festival, a clothing line, a record label, and more. They’ve since released their score for Challengers, and “Together” from Nine Inch Nails’ 2020 album Ghosts V: Together was used as the soundtrack to episode one of the new season of The Bear.
Previously, Dr. Martens have made boots and shoes with Joy Divison, New Order, Sex Pistols, CBGB, Black Sabbath, and more.
