Frenchman Georges Grimmeisen invented an exceptional tennis shoe with a canvas upper and a vulcanised sole unit in 1936, causing tennis players across the land to throw their espadrilles in le bin. In 1952 he refined the design, adding the four famous ventilation holes in the sole unit.
A design classic which has remained unchanged to this day, it was adopted by the mods in the 60s, with other famous fans including Serge Gainsbourg and of course John Lennon who sports a pair with a white suit on the cover of "Abbey Road".