Dr. Martens Promotes Darren McKoy to Global Creative Director Role
Dr. Martens has named a new global creative director.
The UK-based footwear company has tapped Darren McKoy – known to all at Dr. Martens as ‘DMac’ – to fill the role after serving over four years as global product category director, helping to lead the company’s design and product teams.
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According to Dr. Martens, McKoy will now oversee the brand’s design team to act as both “brand custodian” and “innovator” in order to “chart a new course for the brand.”
“As Darren and I both settle into our new roles, it’s clear that he’s been instrumental in inspiring our product strategy,” said Adam Meek, chief product officer at Dr. Martens, in a statement. “Darren has led from the front to reinforce our iconic, original product whilst inspiring innovation that always touches on our heritage.”
McKoy cut his teeth in the business while studying retail marketing management in Leeds, UK and received an early education in streetwear and brand curation at the men’s retailer Hip, also in Leeds.
Roles at several large British retailers soon followed before two major product positions as global product manager for Adidas Originals and EMEA product manager for The North Face.
These roles led McKoy to join Asics Europe in 2012, where he served as category manager for Asics Tiger and Onitsuka Tiger until he joined Dr. Martens in 2015. While at Dr. Martens, McKoy has worked on several instrumental collaborations including the 1460 Remastered collection – the label’s 60th anniversary celebration that featured 12 different capsules from brands like Raf Simons and Marc Jacobs.
“Taking on this new role has been quite a seamless transition because we have such talented designers and creatives,” added McKoy. “My responsibility, and it’s a massive responsibility, is to continue the custodian mindset that has got us to where we are today. It’s a truly an honor to be in this position and be surrounded by like-minded people who have a personal connection to Docs.”
This news comes as the footwear company reported slowing revenue growth in the third quarter of 2021 in January. Dr. Martens said this was due to continued supply chain issues affecting its wholesale business as well as renewed COVID restrictions across the world in December.
Despite these issues, Dr. Martens still reported revenues in the third quarter rising 11% to £307 million, or $412 million at current exchange. This marks a slowdown from the 16% growth of £369.9 million, or $487.9 million, in the prior quarter.
