A Brief History On Creeper Platform Shoes
Jeepers! Where’d you get those Creepers? With durability and function in mind, military boots designed for soldiers based in the North African deserts during the World War II period needed some particularly hard-wearing soles. This came to the birth of the crepe-rubber soled army boot. As these young soldiers got back to home soil, they needed some release and a lot of them made their way to nightclubs and other shady nighttime entertainment spots. This quickly sparked the name “brothel-creepers,” to these crepe sole boots. In 1949, A British footwear company owned by George Cox saw some potential in this idea and incorporated the crepe-sole design into a more everyday-use style. The new-look caught the attention of a young sub-culture, known as the Teddy Boys, also later known as Creepers. The shoe design fit in well with their drainpipe pants, exposed socks, tailored “drapey” jackets, and buttoned-down shirts. Quite coincidentally, this sued-upper and ridged, thick, crepe-sole shoes were then also known as creepers, due to their association with the “Creep Dance” that was done the hit, “The Creep,” performed by Ken Mackintosh. It was a slow, shuffle movement of a dance, also annexed by the Teddy Boys. The trend came and went, and the popularity of the creeper platform shoes faded away. That is, until around about the ’70s when the creepers re-emerged, thanks to Malcolm McLaren, Vivienne Westwood, and the punk scene from the seventies. The unique look of these shoes felt right at home with the unconventional and “against-the-norm” look that angsty young punks were going for. Much can also be said about the production of these creeper platform shoes. George Cox had a process in his footwear company known as “Goodyear Welting.” What this entailed was that instead of the standard, the mass production method of simply using glue to bong the soles to the upper of the shoe, their process involved several stages of sealing, much like the bonding of rubber in the process of manufacturing tires. The process would then be completed by the hands of a skilled craftsman. A very hands-on approach to shoe manufacturing. The popularity of these shoes then faded once again into the obscure subculture fashions until the rise in popularity of the grunge culture in the 90’s and again around about 2011, thanks to R&B music stars like Rihanna and even pop singers like Miley Cyrus. If this type of look still sits well with you, you would be happy to know that the original George Cox design is still being produced, albeit a bit of a niche item, as there are only about 18 registered stockists worldwide.
