Trend Scout Report on the 100th GDS

  UMA, Denmark
Since the start of this year designer Lise Lindvig Michelsen has been operating her first own shoe brand. And her designs are admirable. Since childhood this self-taught designer has loved drawing, especially shoes. And she tests her shoes' fit and wear properties by wearing them on her own feet - making sure to wear her ever fashionable styles all day long. A suede insole is so soft on your foot it forgets about suffering to be beautiful. Her colourful heeled sandals in leather and fish skin are mainly ordered by exclusive little boutiques wanting to complement the likes of Marc Jacobs with less expensive styles (Euro 70 to 100) that in no way lag behind, either in terms of fashion or quality.

CALAFE, Portugal
The designs of Calafe brand, in existence now since 1981, have significantly changed over the past two seasons. Joaquim A.F. Carvalho, President of the company, wanted to move away from the conventional more towards the unusual - and the result is something to be proud of. The styles for men and women are enhanced with a special finish making every shoe look like it has been whitewashed. A special detail are the punched eyelets along the elongated sole that are a welcome touch in every shoe cupboard: just hammer a nail into the wall and hang the shoes up. Fresh summery colour combinations like lemon yellow and white or mid-blue and white look particularly appealing when teamed with faded jeans.

TOSCA BLU COLLECTION, Italy
Tosca Blu might not be a new brand, it is true. However, Tosca Blu Collection is and this second line with a slight addition to the name promises the most sophisticated footwear with loving attention to detail. Sandals trimmed around the sole with woven leatherwork and stringed pearls/beads from Mozambique give the toes a beautiful "neckline”. Pale blue leather and patent leather wedge court shoes with leather tie-up straps are so elegant you scarcely even want to pronounce the word wedge in connection with them and they are so narrow and curved the layered heels almost look theatrical. The perfect summer boot: boots in dark brown leather featuring a linen upper trimmed at the leg with a coloured loop stitch.

ALBERTO ZAG0, Italy
Traditional shoemaking is as ladylike as usual here and in the coming spring it will exude increasing playfulness. Embroidery, bows, gold and iridescent leather are amongst the key defining features here: for instance, a small gold bow and gold studs adorn leather hazelnut brown toe-bar sandals. Ballerinas in pale canvas come with golden embroidery and piping. The 5cm wedge heel of some red T-strap court shoes sports red embroidery while other shoes with narrow grey nappa leather straps also feature discreet gold piping. Overall, wedge heels look more delicate than last summer. Only platform sandals keep the foot on micron soles as usual. Plastic striped wedge soles in the non colours grey and white form a pleasant contrast to the shapes.

SHANIBAR, Israel
Is it humour or just contemporary shoe design when a tennis sock is sewn onto red court shoes to form a boot? On one men's style a trouser hem joins up with a virtually round sole. 31 year old Israeli Shani Bar studied at the famous Bezalel art academy in Jerusalem and went on to work for two years as a stage designer. She is as dedicated to art as she is to classic shoe design. Her commercial styles are reminiscent in shape and size (from size 34) of court shoes with a nostalgic touch without looking old-fashioned. She designs each and every style personally. Four employees help her hand-make the shoes in Tel Aviv. So far her shoes have been stocked at 12 stores in Israel, one in Los Angeles and one in Berlin.

FIRST IDEA, Spain
A brand-new collection from the renowned shoe brand Ana Bonilla also created by designer Pepe Perez. While he continues the femininity of the main line Ana Bonilla with decorated ballerinas, T-strap court shoes and narrow wedges, First Idea is younger and more daring. A real feast for the eyes: heeled sandals in blue and red- embroidered neutral untreated canvas. Plus pink glinting leather straps that snake up over the arch of the foot. Sandals are decorated with sea horses, flowers and fish in colourful layered leather.

HURLEY, USA
Next summer we are likely to see Jessica Simpson amongst those casual toe-bar sandals with blue painted wooden soles of the Hurley surf brand. These shoes have the makings of cult footwear and the brand already is a cult in the US. Founded by Bob Hurley this surf and skate brand is now planning to enter into a partnership with Converse as from the Spring/Summer collection and alongside its trendy skateboarding shoes it will also be featuring all sorts of girls' gear including fabric ballerinas with floral motifs and sweet little slip-on sandals with satin ankle straps.

WHY NOT, Holland
Yes, why not? With alternatives like these you wonder how toe-bar sandals could get a hold like they did. Shoes that are rough and beautiful is not a contradiction in terms. The soft leather soles of WHY NOT are elongated at four key points and are pulled up with cord laces or leather straps. Golden brown studs serve a functional purpose here as well as providing decoration. These comfortable all-rounders come in three colour combinations: dark brown, black and red, antique white and petrol or antique white and olive. True to type they are produced in India.

CORPROTEK, Germany
Rubber shoes with trend potential. Originally these over-boots were developed with industrial purposes in mind but then the creators of this footwear sensed a potential market here in the fashion retail trade. And the lively lads behind the idea are not wrong, as you can really imagine these colourful rubber boots teamed with a mini skirt. What makes them unusual is, firstly, their trendy colours like bright pink, neon green and bright yellow and, secondly, the shape of the flared uppers that overlap and fasten with a button. The special highlight here is the material which is impregnated with a permanent scent. Other possible combinations might be pink with raspberry or yellow with banana.