Bikkembergs Sport

His designs were inspired by classic functional styles; he reworked the clearly defined shapes of 1930s' football boots, making them into neat, round-toed, lace-up urban footwear in 1987. In 1993, he tampered with the weighty infantry-man's boot, stripping it of its utilitarian status when, with a deconstructivist flourish, he removed the eyelets that normally punctuated the boot and accommodated the distinctive high lacing. Instead, a hole was drilled into the sole through which the laces had to be threaded and then wrapped around the boot's leather upper to secure it to the foot. The style soon became de rigueur for both men and women in fashion circles, with copies being sold in High Street chains. Like all his other work, they were based on familiar designs that conveyed traditional notions of masculinity, conjuring up images of sporting and military heroics. Such ideals have also pervaded his menswear.