Footwear award to be presented at GDS
6 July 2006
The international 'Footwear Fashion Future Award 2006' for young designers will be presented at the 102nd GDS by the Main Association of the German Footwear Industry (HDS e.V.) in cooperation with Messe Düsseldorf. Potential award winners established by the jury will be invited to come to Düsseldorf on the second day of this year's GDS, 16 September 2006. There they will be personally present to prepare the presentation and at the award presentation. This is the tenth time the event has been organised by the HDS. Those eligible to enter the contest are: students of European fashion and/or students at product design schools, young graduates from the shoemakers' technical college trained in pattern making as well as young, fully trained shoemakers. The expert jury will judge entries according to criteria such as creativity and originality, innovation, flawless finish and technical perfection. The selected themes include women's, men's and children's shoes and the creative use of all available materials. The jury will then select the best three designers from the designs submitted. Winners of the Footwear Fashion Future Award 2006 will receive prize money of €5,000. Once the trade fair closes its doors the award-winning styles will be exhibited at the German Leather Museum/ German Shoe Museum on permanent loan. GDS feels it particularly important to offer young and talented shoe designers from all over the world a variety of presentation platforms as springboards for their careers. Young talents can therefore rest assured that they will enjoy the undivided attention of the international trade audience and, hence, the decision makers and opinion makers in the industry. 'Young talents provide new, fresh momentum and young ideas for the industry which is on the look-out for the latest trends season after season and this is what makes these young talents so indispensable. This is why offering talented young designers an opportunity to build a reputation for themselves in the world of shoe fashion ranks very high on our agenda', says Kirstin Deutelmoser, Project Director of GDS.
