I did the math: If I break our 307 years of shoemaking down to one year, the 20 years we’ve been making sneakers means we have been doing it since December 7. Too bad it’s right after Sinterklaas, though. We miss out on the eve of presents, which is a great opportunity to gift a pair of sneakers. But what I'm trying to say is: Look! How nice that such an old company presents such insanely beautiful sneakers inspired by vintage tennis shoes!”

Our longing for the old days is rooted in quality. In my grandfather's time and for the generations before him, quality was the number one priority, only after that did design, brand, image, colour and all the other bells and whistles come into play. We happily jump through all the marketing hoops, but we still like good old quality. That's why this sporty shoe has a really thought-through fit, with suede from a Tuscan tanner who talks about his tanning process as if he were a good winemaker, high-quality leather lining and a sole made of TR material that is not mixed with recycled TR grains, which would accelerate wear. Just a good old shoe that also happens to look good.”

The man I design the men's collection with is the biggest shoe nerd I know. He is a kind of shoe robot and knows every single shoe model ever made and where they come from. This shoe sole, for example, is his take on an old indoor sports sole. He knows the entire history of this type of shoe, gives it a twist and designs the coolest original sneaker for it. I couldn't do that. My strengths are rather errrr.... low-key. I'm more about trying things out without thinking too much about it, going purely on instinct. The funny thing is that both approaches come together in this shoe. My colleague had worked out this style and added a curved trimline to the side as a signature feature. The shape on the side comes from our own archive. I came up with it by chance 15 years ago when I was playing around with a sneaker we were developing. I didn't like it, so I cut off a piece and stuck it back on slightly twisted with a glue stick. We’ve used this shape on our best sneakers for years. And now it's back... The vintage Floris van Bommel!”

It doesn’t matter where you walk: the sun will shine. The yellow sole is very, er.... yellow, but that goes well with the look. I decided after a lengthy sit-down with myself that yellow is actually a kind of cheerful grey. You can combine it with lots of other colours and materials without it becoming too intense. If newborn ducklings can get away with it, so can we! We should wear more yellow!”

Somewhere, sometime, in the past 170 years – because that's how long radiators have existed – there must have been someone who bumped his or her toe so terribly and brutally hard that that person holds the record. You could ask this question with EVERYTHING that happens on any given day. I don't think I want to know who pooped the fullest nappy ever, but someone must have done it at some point. Anyway, it has little to do with this shoe, but this type of stuff keeps me busy. This is the Treener, a sneaker that our design team is particularly proud of. It's just right! A very light sole, beautiful materials and a sporty last. I’ll definitely wear them myself. Will this be the strangest accompanying text ever written for a shoe?”