In the history of fashion, Terry de Havilland will be remembered as the "rock'n'roll cobbler" for his quirky designs and for his famous clientele that included David Bowie, Marianne Faithfull, members of Led Zeppelin and Bianca Jagger among the others. So after news of his death at 81 broke last week, tributes started pouring in from both fashion and music fans.
Born Terence John Higgings in 1938 in East London, de Havilland (he changed his name after a stint in Rome as an actor) came from a family of cobblers. His parents had their own company called Waverley Shoes that catered for a wealthy West End clientele and for showgirls such as the performers at The Windmill Theatre, London. The company's pointed toe winklepickers were extremely popular from the '50s on.
Terry de Havilland designed his first pair of shoes in the '60s reusing the lasts from the '40s that his father had employed: Queen editor Annie Traherne featured them in the magazine after seeing them on the feet of his girlfriend at the time, model Perin Lewis. The fortuitous incident ended up launching de Havilland's designer career.
From then on he created towering multi-coloured three-tiered wedges, lace-up boots, high heels and ankle-strap evening peep toe sandals with thick platform soles in iridescent metallic leather and shiny snakeskin, at times with plastic inserts – perfect rock'n'roll textures. His creations, antidotes to the more conservative styles from the '50s, were perilously high and rather impractical, but they still had a sense of proportion that gave the wearer an elongated silhouette.
After his father died in an industrial accident in 1970, de Havilland didn't lose his heart, but remained focused on designing footwear. He opened his own shop – Cobblers to the World – on the Kings Road in 1972, and created shoes for Tim Curry in "The Rocky Horror Show" in 1975 (but also Jackie O wore his thigh-high satin stiletto boots). His shop was a creative place and a party space as well where many musicians including members of Led Zeppelin often convened.
Terry de Havilland's shoes were extravagant and spectacular: the materials he employed seemed to go extremely well with the taste of those years, combining psychedelic colours (apparently he designed the shoes on acid) with a healthy dose of glam.
The company went into liquidiation in 1979, but de Havilland came back with another label, Kamikazi in 1980, producing designs inspired by the punk aesthetic, followed by The Magic Shoe Company, in the 1990s, a brand that catered to ravers, and by a goth emporium in London's Camden in the 1990s.
Together with his wife Liz, Terry de Havilland relaunched Cobblers to the World in Camden Stables Market, but the shop closed in 2002.
De Havilland kept on producing shoes for private clients and for different projects (Simon West's 2001 film "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider") and runways shows (Anna Sui's collections). He was also a visiting professor at London College of Fashion and a member of the Cordwainers Advisory Panel.
In 2011 Selfridges organised a compact de Havilland exhibition in its shoe galleries, but his creations are featured in various archives including the collections at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and at the National Gallery of Victoria, in Melbourne. 
An inspiration for many contemporary designers and brands, including Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu and Gucci by Alessandro Michele, de Havilland is survived by his wife and business partner Liz and his sons.
He leaves behind his designs (he lost the ownership rights to his name and archive after a deal fell apart) and two very important lessons in fashion: the past can inspire us the most wonderful creations for the future, and style is what counts. His iconic shoes were indeed based on a last from the '40s, and he kept on making some of his most famous models – like the Margaux wedge, originally produced in 1973 – without altering them.