Stahl fashion symposium in Guangzhou

Stahl Asia Pacific presented its new fashion ideas for leather during its “Fashion Future” symposium at the Shangri-La Pazhou Hotel in Guangzhou, China on March 31. More than 250 leather technologists and tanners, as well as eighty Stahl employees and agents attended the symposium. They showed great interest in the fashion trends and technical insights into the theme 'Fashion Future - where technology becomes fashion'. The first mood is Asian Cowboys, lassoing twelve hot wax trends for touch and waterproof surfaces, raw looks and new lights derived from cowboy dress. In contrast, SABA is a collection of soft, smooth touch leathers. A new cationic system, M-Cat, produces floaters, and straight and soft nappas as well as tight grain and casein gloss both with clarity. Mysterious black, common brown and special tan comprise the primary colour focus. From soft and smooth, the symposium moves to white, the colour of Technical Sports. The hottest shade in terms of popularity and fashion, white will not be the same after this collection. Just as the white clouds in the sky vary in tone from white, to grey and on into other soft tones depending on the time of day, so too white will no longer exist as Just White for sports shoes but will also come in tones of grey and White-on-White mud crack and white techno. Shoes will shine with looks and performance as the emphasis goes with a theme of health and lifestyle. From white to the colourful Paris cabaret, Frou Frou is not only the name of one of Les Grisettes in Léhar's 'Merry Widow' but is now the name of a three-dimensional light and fluffy concept with seemingly limitless creativity. Fashion Future moves into an area that is not a question of style but one of uniqueness. It is practical. It is 'Day-2-Day'. It is light, elegant and natural. Bold colours include purple, pink, red and blue like the whirl of the Can-Can. Too daring to be conservative, the Frou Frou collection looks at sensation, yet with a polished and burnished fashion. Inevitably the last look is Modern, a saleable look with clean burnished and new Patent surplanting the old dirty wax looks. It is a look that is recognised and experienced in an instant. If these are the looks of fashion in Asia, it begs the question 'How are they achieved?' The answer lies in upgrading. Due to the need to upgrade a significant amount of low quality crusts these days, Stahl are always researching new ways of achieving this in terms of quality, performance and economics. Two of the latest developments from Stahl Asia Pacific were on show. M-Cat is a special formulation that assists in giving upgrading that extra touch properties and natural appearance. Equally natural is a new heat foam whose performance gives a powerful upgrading trend.