Everything is ready for a great start to the second and eagerly awaited edition of Gallery Shoes, which will showcase the latest proposals of the winter collections presented by more than 500 brands coming from around the world: Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Croatia, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, Spain and Turkey.

The Show succeeded in satisfying the request to participate of many German and foreign brands, driven by the success of its debut at the end of August last year. In fact, thanks to this success, a third tensile structure was created, in order to host businesses mostly coming from the Premium and Contemporary segments, without distancing itself too much from the fair’s original concept of a meticulous and limited selection. In fact, as the director of the event, Ulrike Kähler wanted to underline:

“We created more space in order to expand our brand portfolio, without comprising on the initial philosophy of the event that limits the size of the individual stands to a maximum of 150 square metres”. “Some of the brands present through distribution agencies wanted to wait and see what would be the outcome of Gallery Shoes’ first edition, before deciding whether or not to participate, and today, they are finally on board with us… so, you could say the ice has been broken!”

Among the new entries in the Premium segment will be featured Aldo Brue, Elena Iachi, Fabio Rusconi, Fauzian Jeunesse, Strategia, Todai, Stokton and Silvano Sassetti from Italy. From Germany, there will be Heinrich Dinkelacker, and from Spain, Preventi.

The new names in the Urban & Contemporary area will instead include Marc Cain Shoes & Bags and Gosch from Germany, Blundstone, Blu Heeler and Emu from Australia, and Twinset and Mery from Italy.

Brand new to the Kids area will be Colors of California, Jarrett, Mou, Primigi and Verdecchia from Italy, Bellybutton, Lowa Kids and Pololo from Germany, Phister & Philina and Racoon from Denmark, and Genuins from Spain.

Instead, the new entries in the Comfort area will feature names such as Mobilis Ergonomic by Mephisto from France, Grünwald by Glücksschuh and Meisi by Berkemann from Germany, Giesswein from Austria, Haflinger from Poland, IGI e Co. from Italy, Joe N Joyce from Spain, Wolkenwerk from Portugal, and Vionic from the United States.

“The mission of Gallery Shoes is to be a fair with a select and complete mix of brands. In the end, I believe that everyone can benefit from this, including visitors and exhibitors alike – affirmed Ms Kahler -. For this reason, we have been very cautious in our expansion of the exhibition area, while trying at the same time to ensure the participation of new brands capable of bringing a breath of fresh area to the entire Show”.

The popularity of the new exhibition area has given encouraging signals to the organisers for the decisions they made regarding it, while also allowing for a more efficient division of the exhibition areas.

Looking, instead, at the companies that have decided to reconfirm their participation in Gallery Shoes, in the Premium Area, we find names like Abro, Aigner, Alexander Hotto, Ama Deluxe Brand, ASH, AU79, Bogner, Camerlengo, Calpierre, Candice Cooper, Chie Mihara, Floris van Bommel, Jaime Mascaro, Karl Lagerfeld, Katy Perry Collections, Lola Cruz, MOA- Master of Arts, MOMA, Pertini, Pura Lopez, RAS, Voile Blanche, and many others.

In the Contemporary area, instead, we will find names like Ara, Birkenstock, Bruno Premi, Camel Active, Donna Carolina, Gabor, GANT Calzature, Gerry Weber Shoes, Högl, Marc O Polo, Maripé, Melvin & Hamilton, Marco Tozzi, NeroGiardini, Paul Green, Rieker, s.Oliver, Skechers, Thierry Rabotin and Unisa.

Returning to Gallery Shoes in the Kids segment will be companies of the calibre of Naturino, W6YZ, Momino, Ocra and Pinocchio.

The latest products will be flanked by a rich programme of collateral events that includes the Trend Table, the opening day of the event, organised in collaboration with the Federal Association of the German Footwear and Leather Goods Industry and with the participation of the fashion director of Igedo, Alexander Radermacher. On Monday, 12 March, instead, the first HDS/L Junior Award 2018 awards ceremony dedicated to the theme “Fashion meets comfort” will be held.