From September 11 – 13, 2009, GDS – International Event for Shoes & Accessories, will present all key trends for the coming season at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany. The event will provide a comprehensive overview of the progressive and classic segments of the market, featuring street and sportswear, design newcomers, brands with mainstream market acceptance and children’s footwear. Approximately 800 exhibitors from 40 countries will display about 1,800 footwear collections for the 2010 Spring/Summer season. “GDS is once again all geared up for international buyers. At this point in time the collections will present established trends and the comprehensive program of information and accompanying events is as important as ever in our day and age,” explained Kirstin Deutelmoser, Project Director of GDS.

The individual “lifestyle worlds” at GDS 2009 will be presented in an optimized hall layout. The Showcenter TRENDS ONSTAGE will move to Hall 2. The three Urban Areas of GDS with their versatile lifestyle worlds Streetfashion, Urbanwear and Denim Brands will be together in Hall 3. The creative newcomer collections of the Design Attack can also be found in Hall 3. All progressive brands of the White Cubes segment will be presented alongside the two other premium areas Upper Style and Prime Square in Hall 4. Well-known international, high-end brands will again be located in the Superior segment in Hall 5, presented together with the renowned exhibitors of Hall 6 in the Essential area. Exhibitors of children’s shoes will have their own location at “Kidwalk” in Hall 7a. Shop & Deco exhibitors as well as the suppliers of bags and accessories in the Bagccess Zone will remain in Hall 7.0-1.

Companies in the Urban Authentic area in Hall 3 will include: Aces of London, ART, Billi Bi (new) CallagHan, Converse, DCCO, El Naturalista, Fossil, HUB Footwear, Le Coq Sportif, Palladium, Pepe Jeans Footwear, Radical Boot (new), Rehab, Rizzo (new), Snipe (new), W6YZ and Yellow Cab. Fast-turning, mainstream lifestyle and fashion labels as well as sportswear brands will be represented in the Urban Fresh and Urban Active segments (Hall 3) by Amani, Buffalo, Camel Active, Clarks, Coxx Borba, FitFlop, Gaastra, Grendene, KangaROOS, s.Oliver, Skechers, Sperry Top Sider, Tatonka and Vagabond, among others.

Companies in the Urban Authentic area in Hall 3 will include: Aces of London, ART, Billi Bi (new) CallagHan, Converse, DCCO, El Naturalista, Fossil, HUB Footwear, Le Coq Sportif, Palladium, Pepe Jeans Footwear, Radical Boot (new), Rehab, Rizzo (new), Snipe (new), W6YZ and Yellow Cab. Fast-turning, mainstream lifestyle and fashion labels as well as sportswear brands will be represented in the Urban Fresh and Urban Active segments (Hall 3) by Amani, Buffalo, Camel Active, Clarks, Coxx Borba, FitFlop, Gaastra, Grendene, KangaROOS, s.Oliver, Skechers, Sperry Top Sider, Tatonka and Vagabond, among others.

The Superior (Hall 5) and Essential (Hall 6) areas will feature well-established international and large German brands with high quality poducts: Ara, Democrata, Donna Carolina, Emmeci, Gabor, Go Green (new), Hallufix, Joyks, Manufacture D’Essai, Natalia Blanco (new), Otto Kern (new!), Paul Green, Ponsquitana, Rieker, Roberta Festa, Sympatex, Xacata (new) and Wortmann.

Renowned prime brands presented in the exclusive Upper Style area (Hall 4) will include: Attilio Giusti, Barrats (new), Buday Shoes (new), Chibs (new), Deficifield (new), Eduardo G. (new), Gino Bianchi (new), Jaime Mascaró, John Lakes (new), Künzli All/`Tag (new), Les Souliers de Masha (new), Mack James (new!), Mister, Profession Bottier (new) and Stuart Weitzman.

Progressive prime brands on display in the successful White Cubes Area (Hall 4) will include: Australia Luxe (new), Beverly Feldman, buttero, C. Doux, Chie Mihara, Coclico (new), Duccio del Duca, Farrutx, JOOP! SHOES, K&S Schuhmanufaktur, Lottusse, Moma, Paco Gil, Mer Du Sud, Officine Creative, Pantofola d'oro 1886, Pedro Miralles, Petra Dieler, Pura Lopez, Neosens, Ramon Tenza, Scholl Studio, Strenesse, Swear London, Tentazione and Tierra de Pura Raza, Vialis. White Cubes is considered one of the most important premium platforms in Europe.

An ancillary program consisting of fashion shows, panel discussions, lectures and workshops will complement the exhibits at GDS 2009. This program will present a combination of trend and special-interest information for specialized retailers to prepare for order talks and their daily business.

GLOBAL SHOES 2009, Leading Trade Show for Sourcing, will take place concurrently with GDS and will feature a wide range of shoes and leather goods for the high-volume market. As an independent trade fair for the sourcing segment it will remain in Halls 8a and 8b, separate from the GDS exhibition area but directly connected to the main entrance of the fairgrounds. Especially in Asian countries, the high-volume business has been severely affected by the global economic crisis since late last year and even in China many shoe manufacturers had to close down production sites in the past few months. “All the more positive to note are the signals we are currently receiving from China. 95% of Hall 8a is already booked. This shows that GLOBAL SHOES continues to be a representative reflection of the market despite the fundamental changes and shifts. The current business situation promotes a clearing up of the market. Those firms offering supplies geared towards demand are the ones who have established themselves,” commented Kirstin Deutelmoser, Project Director of GLOBAL SHOES. About 300 international high-volume suppliers are expected to exhibit at the September event.

For further information on visiting or exhibiting at GDS 2009 or GLOBAL SHOES 2009, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America, 150 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 2920, Chicago, IL 60601. Telephone: (312) 781-5180; Fax: (312) 781-5188; E-mail: info@mdna.com; Visit our web site http://www.mdna.com; Subscribe to our blog at http://www.mdna.com/blog/; Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/mdnachicago

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