Dirk Bikkembergs emerged from Antwerp’s storied Royal Academy in the early 1980s as part of the Antwerp Six, a group that forever changed the European fashion landscape. While his peers explored intellectual tailoring and deconstruction, Bikkembergs took a radically different route grounded in the physical body. His clothes celebrated strength, discipline, and movement, framing athleticism as a refined aesthetic language. 

His early footwear was particularly ahead of its time. He introduced boots with steel-cut heels, bungee cords, lace-through details, and tongues that rose above the shaft. Some featured holes through which cords could be wrapped and tied, allowing multiple ways to wear them. By merging workwear, military, and mountaineering influences, Bikkembergs set the tone for a new era of footwear.

By the 1990s, he expanded into full collections that blurred uniform and fashion. Tailored jackets cut like track blazers, motocross trousers, and body-conscious knits defined his take on athletic masculinity. In a decade of minimalism and androgyny, his work stood out for its physical intensity and directness.

The early 2000s marked Bikkembergs’ defining chapter. He treated the football pitch as an extension of the runway, staging shows in stadiums and dressing real athletes instead of models. His sponsorship of F.C. Fossombrone in Italy was more than a marketing stunt; it was a manifesto for a new kind of fashion. This reimagining of sportswear anticipated today’s luxury athletic takeovers seen in brands like Prada Linea Rossa and Louis Vuitton’s collaborations with athletes.

Though his commercial path later shifted under new ownership, Bikkembergs’ influence remains deeply woven into contemporary fashion. His work set a precedent for the fashion world’s fascination with performance gear and physicality long before the term "athleisure" existed.

This beautiful pair of derbies features a brogue wingtip and an exaggerated wood stack heel.

Tagged Size 38