For this shoe design, McQueen combined the reflective sheen and pliability of leather with the matte, hard surface of attached metal plackets and an articulated metal heel.

Referencing an ocean liner’s metal hull, the shoe’s appearance also echoes the punched-hole fastening mechanism of Meccano, a toy construction system. Design references include the John McTiernan film The Predator (1984), which featured a lethal menace in the form of technologically advanced extra-terrestrial life.

McQueen’s resulting design melds the human and the mechanical, lending the wearer a kind of superhuman quality. Setting the cold intelligence of the machine in opposition to the beauty and fragility of nature was a typical conceit of McQueen. It was the hallmark of the Plato’s Atlantis collection, which some consider to be his greatest achievement.