Two concurrent fairs: APLF - Materials, Manufacturing & Technology (MM&T) and Fashion Access came to a close last week on a high note, reporting 33, 274 registered buyers*.  Visitor attendance at APLF - MM&T grew by 9% from 2009 and an even more optimistic 18% at Fashion Access - figures that suggest a renewed confidence within the global fashion industry.

The Düsseldorf Shoe Fairs GDS – International Event for Shoes & Accessories and GLOBAL SHOES – leading trade show for sourcing – drew to a close on Sunday with great optimism and more than satisfactory results. In total approx. 29,500 trade visitors used the three days of the trade fair to gather information on the 2010/11 Autumn/Winter season and place their orders in Düsseldorf. Prevailing in the exhibition halls was a concentrated working atmosphere...

Innovative shapes encounter newly defined classics, delicate easiness with ethnic worlds of patterns is contrasted with a new nonchalance: (be) authentic and unique ! The summer „10“, the first season of a new decade, appears authentic and maximalistic. A multi-faceted season surprising with joy of living. These are the key terms for the summer season 2010: value, authenticity and courage for fashionable highlights.

For the first time ever BTS Fair of Shoes, Leather and Leather Goods will be staged in November and May. The date for the autumn edition was changed following the suggestions of footwear producers and the edition is aimed at companies which order models from the spring-summer 2010 collection. The trade fair exposition centres on two themes: Trend and Tech and will present collections of footwear, clothing, accessories, leather as well as components...

Top Spanish brands put their best foot forward at Modacalzado in Madrid from March 17 to 19, 2009, where there was chance to see their autumn/winter 09/10 collections. Hot trends include the classic Oxford shoe, updated with feminine detail like coloured leather and heels. Leggy cowboy boots and giddy platforms also head the list of things to come.

Classicism merges with modernism, nature unites with urbanism, tradition pairs with futurism – these interactions open up an exciting season: re_worked future/the time is now ! Contrasts are defining the trends of the winter season 2009/10. Deliberate breaches are existential in any of the four topics and reflect our society. Today fashion is defined by different lifestyles not by one special look. There is a turning to the „real life“: authentic and rustic, yet with a little twist. The counter movement is to be seen in the ever progressing development of the high tech field: a new lightness of the material provides sculptural shaping followed by innovation with the silhouettes.