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Art for GDS

Thomas Tremml from Ismaning near Munich has also made a name for himself with his ice installations on an international scale and is among the best ice artists worldwide.

“You need lots of “dough” for quality shoes,” as Silke Bunde knows.

“Modelling dough that is not air-dried served me as a material,” adds the Düsseldorf-based designer specialised in customising extraordinary illustrations and kneaded portraits with her Knetwerk agency established in 2008.

A new shoe fashioned out of old newspaper cuttings was Adriana Teldaldi’s idea.

It looks like a fairytale, almost supernatural – as if not of this world. With his "feather shoe" artist Stefan Laskowski has accomplished a both unusual and very appealing piece of work.

Create a shoe but from extraordinary and utterly unexpected materials. This was the brief given to four different artists for the new advertising campaign for GDS. And the creative results are indeed both individual and extraordinary.

It looks like a fairytale, almost supernatural – as if not of this world. With his "feather shoe" artist Stefan Laskowski has accomplished a both unusual and very appealing piece of work. "I wanted to use a material that is as unsuitable and improbable for footwear as it gets with a view to enhancing the shoe in a dazzlingly poetic manner," says the Cologne artist and adds “With its airiness the feather shoe produces precisely the impression that observers should have when watching elegant women in filigree pumps: that they are floating.” Though there was absolutely nothing “airy” about the development process because painfully achieved interim results ran the risk of being “crunched” by the next stage in the process. “Achieving airiness is often the hardest thing to do,” says Stefan Laskowski. After working for over 20 years as a freelance painter and sculptor he knows what he is talking about. His creations include the facade design of the Ministry of Agriculture, Consumer Protection and Food in Bonn in 2000 as well as large-format stained glass works or a seven metre high fibre glass sculpture that Laskowski custom made for a fountain in Berlin’s Märkisches Viertel. Until this very day he has not lost his passion for things unusual, a point in case being his store Kentaurus that Stefan Laskowski runs besides his artistic work – featuring special vintage garments from flying, motor sports and mountaineering.

A new shoe fashioned out of old newspaper cuttings was Adriana Teldaldi’s idea, which she realised as a diploma project for her graphic design studies. “News and information – alongside the actual creative process – decisively determine the development of trends also in the footwear industry,” explains the young Scotswoman who actually hails from Aberdare near Newport. “This style is a British one-off piece featuring news from my home town; a reflection, as it were, of one day but by no means as ephemeral as yesterday's newspaper.” Beyond this, the design also toys with the contrast between hard facts and an airy, fashionable sense of fun – as evidenced by the sophisticated heel decoration that gives this shoe that certain something. “I love shoes and am very interested in fashion,” says Adriana Teldaldi, adding “I therefore allow myself to be surprised and inspired by unusual creations.”

No less creative but all the more ephemeral is the ice boot by Thomas Tremml. The creation process as such was time-consuming; the water to be frozen at minus 8 degrees had to be kept constantly in motion before the 100 kg “ice blank” could be converted into a solid yet transparent boot using special carving tools and mills plus great precision. This artist from Ismaning near Munich has also made a name for himself with his ice installations on an international scale and is among the best ice artists worldwide. Moreover, he has even broken a number of records with his creations such as the world’s biggest pils glass for the Königs Brewery that earned him an entry in the Guinness Book of Records. He also shaped Neuschwanstein Castle right down to the smallest of details, or the – literally – cool cars for the automobile shows in Detroit. Describing his passion Thomas Tremml says: “Ice fascinates me, I simply can’t break away from it.” He always thought of making a shoe or boot of ice. “To me shoes are the most important garments,” he explains and adds “At my “ice-cold” workplace my shoes have to be extremely functional, water-proof and insulating at temperatures around minus 30 degrees.” But the brief for the GDS advertising campaign also intrigued him because he places a lot of emphasis on high-quality shoes in his private life. “To my mind shoes should be made of exquisite materials, feature appealing design and boast excellent wear properties.” Nothing more but nothing less either.

“You need lots of “dough” for quality shoes,” as Silke Bunde knows. She has taken her brief literally by producing a perfectly kneaded style. “Modelling dough that is not air-dried served me as a material,” adds the Düsseldorf-based designer specialised in customising extraordinary illustrations and kneaded portraits with her Knetwerk agency established in 2008. “Since I very much focus on details in my work, I was faced with a number of challenges with my kneaded shoe. Representing the lace alone has required several experiments and many hours of work.” For herself as a young mother of two she prefers rather practical footwear for everyday life. “I travel extensively and therefore prefer flat shoes myself,” she says and adds “which is why my absolute shoe favourites are at present my recently acquired biker boots.” These are definitely more wearable than the artist’s kneaded shoe, which weighs in at as much as ten kilograms. Incidentally, the exhibits are not only featured as part of the GDS ad campaign but also “live” at the trade fair itself.

GDS' advertising campaign for the current season centres on Stefan Laskowski's feather shoe with the claim "Inspiration to go". The coming seasons will see the other artists' motifs being featured.

Text: Nicoletta Schaper