In the late 1980s a pair of shoes became trendy among both men and women, the Dr. Martens shoes. They were created by the German Doctor – Klaus Märtens – during World War II. At the end of the war he broke his ankle (caviglia). The army boots were uncomfortable and he tried to improve them maintaining the upper shape (struttura alta) but using soft leather and air-padded soles (suole con imbottitura ad aria) made of tyres (copertoni). He went on producing them after the war. A university friend Dr. Herbert Funck helped him selling them and the two started using discarded rubber (gomma di scarto) from Luftwaffe airfields (aviazione tedesca). Now Dr Martens is a brand famous also as a range of accessories including clothing, luggage, etc. and they are known as Doctor Martens, Doc Martens, Docs or DMs.