A young Italian designer is banking on Zinedine Zidane's notorious World Cup headbutt to make his mark on the fashion world.
Alessandro Ferrari, 28, has come up with a line of T-shirts, polo-necks and fleece jerseys featuring a stylised logo of a man hitting someone with his head - much like the France legend did when he amazed the soccer world by ramming Italy defender Marco Materazzi in France's World Cup Final defeat to Italy.
Ferrari has dubbed the line Xqua, pronounced Perqua, to echo the "Pourquoi, pourquoi, pourquoi?" (Why, why, why?) with which French public TV's shocked commentator reacted to Zizou's act.
Ferrari obviously hopes his tops will be a success but also claims they can help spread a culture of non-violence.
"I decided to use that regrettable incident to launch a positive social message while offering a top-quality, trendy product," he said.
The July 9 headbutt, which resulted in Zidane missing the end of his swansong for France, spurred a stream of debate in which the Real Madrid player was cast first as villain and later hero.
It soon appeared in an Internet game in which players made Zidane hit Materazzi as often as they felt like, and was later turned into a hit song that echoed around Italian beaches.
In August a Chinese businessman bought the rights to headbutt cut-outs to be put on clothes and accessories.
Materazzi, who was eventually banned for two games - one less than his illustrious opponent - for provoking the French great into hitting him, recently issued a charity book, What I Really Said To Zidane, which has become a bestseller in Italy.
The scores of alleged 'provocations' include "Where exactly is the sternum, Zizou?" and "What's wrong Zinedine, you haven't lost yet and you've already torn all your hair out".
Other pearls include threats to tell the France midfield genius the ending of US cult series Lost or get him into the next edition of the desert-island reality show I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here.
Materazzi also delights in playing against his French media image of low, scheming villain, launching the highbrow jibe: "French philosophy hasn't been the same since Foucault died".
