‘Watch our Steps’ at the Dutch Design Week

Dutch Design Week 20-28 October in Eindhoven will premiere the spectacular exhibition ‘Watch our Steps’ organized by SLEM, a new education and innovation centre for footwear.



The exhibition will feature the best footwear graduation works from academies around the world, from Hiko Mizuno and Bunka College in Tokyo, to Polimoda in Florence and London College of Fashion to ArteZ in Arnhem and many more. It promises to be the footwear event of the year!

The DDW audience can vote for who they think has the best work and the final decision will be made on Friday, October 26 by an expert jury, which includes Liza Snook of the Virtual Shoe Museum! The winner will receive the Global Footwear Design Award, which involves tailor made training and consulting provided by the broad network of SLEM. This will help the winner make a head start with his or her career; in whichever direction he or she would like to move forward within the shoe business.

Our fellow judges are Jan Jansen, Charles Bergmans and René van den Berg, Holland’s top three shoe designers, Inge Specht, curator of the Dutch Shoe and Leather Museum, Bea de Roo, renowned footwear forecaster and Nicoline van Enter, creative director of SLEM, the footwear education and innovation centre that organizes the exhibition.

Head of the jury and presenter of the Global Footwear Design Award Night on October 26 is Victoria Koblenko, famous actress and professional shoe addict! You can join the award night on Friday evening the 26th, from 19:30 to 22:30. It promises to be a great evening for all shoe lovers, professionals and amateurs alike, with inspiring lectures by René van den Berg, Nicoline van Enter and Diane Becker, design consultant for Camper footwear. Tickets cost 25 euros and are available through www.slem.nl/events.

SLEM is a new education and innovation centre for footwear that focuses on providing courses for students and professionals, including the latest knowledge on technology and sustainability. They offer a 6-month intensive masterclass in shoe design, and several short workshops, both online and offline. In their booth at Dutch Design Week they will not only show the ‘Watch our Steps’ exhibition, but also demonstrate several new techniques for footwear.

See you in Eindhoven and get the digital catalogue from slem.nl! For those of you who can’t make it can enjoy this video!

Dutch Design Week
SLEM Hall 2 of the Klokgebouw at Strijp S
Eindhoven