GDS/GLS 2007: Kaffee Oriental

Urban Fashion from Arabian Nights Independent streetwear labels, underground fashion & urban styles: 100 creative, international young designers will once again present an exceptional cross-over in trends away from the mainstream at the 7th Edition of Design Attack in Hall 13. The programme in the Scene Area includes not only shoes, bags and accessoires, but also Urban and Streetwear, lingerie as well as the most diverse lifestyle products. The forthcoming Design Attack from 14 to 16 September 2007 enables the visitors to experience the oriental magic of the fascinating Moroccan regal city Marrakesh with all their senses under the KAFFEE ORIENTAL design and event motto

The fair stands are presented true-to-original style as Arabian merchants’ palaces or “Riads” with filigree arches and ornaments in a warm colour spectrum ranging from orange to terracotta and bordeaux. Oriental light spectacles, sensual rose petal, vanilla, cinnamon aromas, and as a highlight, an original oriental “Souk” bazaar, authentically reflect the exotic atmosphere of the historic old town “Medina”. On the bazaar street, there is the lively, colourful hustle and bustle between stands offering spices, different tea varieties, fragrances along with oriental carpet merchants, snake charmers and seductive belly dancers.
In the oriental boxes all around the catwalk at the “KAFFEE ORIENTAL Plaza”, anyone who gets too hot will find a genuine oasis with palm trees, refreshing cocktails and fountain as well as several water plume fountains. Several times a day “KAFFEE ORIENTAL Shows” are held there, which present extravagant looks and trends. In the event area DJs in oriental towers provide alternative sounds for a modern blend between the Orient and Occident. A restaurant entices with Occidental delicacies such as green tea with fresh mint or couscous. Aromatic fragrances are emitted by the water pipes, the “Shishas”, which invite you to chill out in the middle of soft cushions.
Bringing the fair Saturday to a close is the “KAFFEE ORIENTAL Night” – a gettogether for exhibitors in the Arabian Nights setting right at the heart of Bedouin tents, oriental beats and cool drinks.
Since 2004 up to the present-day Design Attack has established itself from its beginnings as an experimental project with a small community of exhibitors and has now become a permanent feature and important platform for alternative labels in the Young Fashion sector. Since then it has been regarded as a special attraction and draws visitors, including many Top Buyers who are keen to experiment, to Hall 13.
New Labels to Watch
The Revolverbags from Anna Belle are high-fashion eye-catchers, which also impress through functionality and quality and are hand-made according to individual customers’ specifications. Anna Scheuten, proprietor of “Anna Belle”, is exhibiting for the first time at Design Attack with the aim of presenting her collection to a wider audience: “Design Attack is the right platform for me enabling me to expand my client base to include national as well as international dealers”. www.anna-belle-bags.de
First-time exhibitor Red Monkey will be rocking at Design Attack with lavishly finished watches and other leather accessoires in Vintage Style, which are inspired by the dishevelled, shabby rock band look. Particularly in the USA the label has many fans, including celebrities such as Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Brad Pitt, Dave Navarra and Kid Rock. www.redmonkeydesigns.com
The Urban Lifestyle Brand Underground draws its inspiration from the “Musicculture” term – the unique connection between British fashion, culture and music. The collection presented at Design Attack for the first time ranges from baseball boots through to “Underground Girl Summer Shoes” right up to shoes inspired by Heritage Rock. www.underground-england.co.uk
With hip Flip-Flops in a large number of designs, colours and names such as “Lollipop & Alpenrock”, “Dressed to kill” or “Sunny Side Up”, the Wandelei label will be presenting itself for the first time at Design Attack. www.wandelei.com
Another first-time exhibitor is the British label Frisky Footwear with trendy rubber sandals in loud, garish colours and many variations.
www.friskyfootwear.co.uk
The NW-Connection agency is aiming to establish and promote a network consisting of young talents. In addition to brands such as Tagger (accessoires from truck awnings and tarpaulin) and Ja Fein! (lifestyle products featuring amusing animal figures), it will also be presenting the “Supercycled” label at
Design Attack for the first time. “For us as a young agency the Design Attack exhibition area at the GDS is a good forum enabling us to enter an exchange and dialogue with young designers and creative companies. For us it is the ideal opportunity to exhibit at an international trade fair platform”, that is the joint assessment by the two agency proprietors, Monika Kammann and Anna Upleger.
www.nw-connection.de
The Tigerbelts from Supercycled are a sporting mixture of Asian battle belt and recycling. The cool belts function according to the modular principle and can be individually arranged using replaceable motifs consisting of Asian packaging.
Freely according to the motto: “Pimp my belt!”. www.supercycled.de
The Young Fashion brand NAT-2 will celebrate its premiere at Design Attack KAFFEE ORIENTAL on the European mainland. The patented “Two in One” product unites chuck and sandals in one shoe. “With the forthcoming Design Attack we are expecting to address a broad target group of high-quality dealers and arouse the appeal of something very new, something revolutionary in terms of shoes and design, among the buyers,” says Matthias Thies, Executive Director K&T Handelsund Unternehmensberatung GmbH, which markets the NAT-2 label.
www.myspace.com/ktnatnat und www.iqons.com/nat+nat+brand
With the Wolpertinger label, Sebastian Thies, Senior Product Manager Men Shoes, Fashion & Fashion Textiles, KCC Group, has already been a satisfied and successful exhibitor for several seasons at Design Attack: “We are once again looking forward to participating at Design Attack under the KAFFEE ORIENTAL motto. The feature has proved itself for us as a communication medium and contact forum with very good trade partners. There is a pleasant, motivating atmosphere in which people do not forget however to place encouraging orders”.
www.wolpertingerclothing.com
The Design Attack feature is a sector of the Young Fashion Segment within the GDS/GLS, which this season is successfully raising its profile through registrations from first-time exhibitors and stand enlargements. Many young labels use Design Attack as a springboard, and after a few seasons independently present themselves in the surroundings of established Young Fashion exhibitors as is currently the case with Rocket Dog or Ben Sherman. www.rocketdog.com und www.bensherman.com
GDS/GLS Facts and Figures:
GDS/GLS, International Event for Shoes, Leather Goods & More, is held parallel to the global shoes & accessories sourcing fair from 14 to 16 September 2007 at the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre. A total of 1,400 exhibitors from 50 countries will present the latest trends for the Spring/Summer 2008 season and instant ranges for the forthcoming autumn and winter business.
You can also find out about all the activities connected with GDS/GLS – International Event for Shoes, Leather Goods & More - on the Internet at:
www.gds-online.com
www.gls-fair.com