But that’s just the way they like it.

Even the company’s website proudly proclaims:

“Dr. Martens have always been different. No other brand has been mutated, customized, f$@%ed up and freaked out like DM’s. Without asking or being able to stop it. It happened to them. They were just fascinated bystanders on a journey that has raced through every crevice of subculture, every twist and turn of youthful creativity and now, here, with a generation who have always had email, mp3s and downloads, it is as relevant and vibrant as ever.”

So perhaps it comes as no surprise that to celebrate their 50th birthday, Dr. Martens wanted to do something a little out of the ordinary.  The company asked 10 artists to create their version of a cult classic track that represents the spirit of the people who’ve worn DM’s over the past 50 years. Vanessa Marzaroli, a director at Blind, was invited to participate. Vanessa was asked to direct a video that did not include talent, but was given no other creative parameters or rules. So what did Blind and Vanessa come up with? A stunningly beautiful video that will surely give you goosebumps:

Does the video capture and represent Dr. Martens as the unique, remarkable, and extraordinary brand it is? Well, that’s certainly up for interpretation. But the haunting music, Cinematic Orchestra’s version of the classic “Lilac Wine” (made popular by early 90s crooner, Jeff Buckley), combined with the exquisite “moving visual poetry” is certainly poignant and beautiful to look at.