News Detail Press: Birkenstock Group

13.03.2022

HDS/L Junior Award 2022 for BIRKENSTOCK’s Tobias Tschäpe

The award of the Federal Association of the German Footwear and Leather Goods Industry for young designers was presented at the SHOES DÜSSELDORF trade fair

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On the occasion of the SHOES DÜSSELDORF trade fair, which took place in Düsseldorf from March 6 – 8, 2022, the Federal Association of the German Footwear and Leather Goods Industry, HDS/L, presented the HDS/L Junior Award 2022 to creative young designers. The official award ceremony for the Junior Award took place on Monday, March 7, 2022, following the HDS/L press conference.

The young designer duo Julien Memmer and Tobias Tschäpe (pictured left) from the German College of Footwear Design and Technology in Pirmasens was awarded the HDS/L Junior Award 2022 for their glamorous creation, the "Manhattan Nights" high heel. The jurors were impressed by their imaginative and functional execution of the motto “Go for Glamour! Create a breathtaking party shoe”. Tobias Tschäpe completed his vocational training as a shoemaker at BIRKENSTOCK's Bernstadt site and is currently a student at the renowned German College of Footwear Design and Technology in Pirmasens.

Every year, the “HDS/L Junior Award” is awarded to young people who showcase shoes with extraordinary creativity and innovation. This year’s motto of the HDS/L Junior Award 2022 was: “Go for Glamour! Create a breathtaking party shoe“. The Association asked the participants to submit creative designs for stylish, wearable and glamorous party shoes. Young designers from Germany and abroad were able to present their ideas for the “GHS/L Junior Award 2022”. The competition was open to students from European schools in the field of fashion/design as well as young professionals in the industry. A jury of industry experts then selected the winner from a large number of creative designs.

For more information, please visit https://www.hdsl.eu/hds-l-award .

About BIRKENSTOCK

BIRKENSTOCK is a global lifestyle brand with a heritage in iconic footwear, rooted in the creation of the BIRKENSTOCK footbed. The brand that can be traced as far as 1774 is guided by the notion of quality and function in all its actions and across all categories. The concept of all-round wellbeing is developed into footwear, sleeping systems and natural cosmetics, increasingly translating the lifestyle vision of the brand heritage.

With around 5,500 employees worldwide, this traditional, sixth-generation family-run business is also one of the German footwear industry’s biggest employers. BIRKENSTOCK was already using the term “footbed” in the 1910s, giving it the meaning which is commonly understood by consumers all over the world to this day – as a synonym for outstanding comfort when walking and standing. By the early 1970s, BIRKENSTOCK had become a global player. Since 2021, the company is majority owned by L Catterton, the world's largest growth investor focused on the consumer goods industry, and Financière Agache, a holding company controlled by Agache, the holding company of the Arnault family.

Manufactured in Germany, the sandals are sold in more than 100 countries on all continents. BIRKENSTOCK also has a growing range of closed shoes, children’s shoes, and occupational footwear, as well as specialist products for orthopedic retailers, socks, bags, and belts. In 2017, BIRKENSTOCK added sleep systems and natural cosmetics (BIRKENSTOCK NATURAL SKIN CARE) to its portfolio of products. BIRKENSTOCK has 16 sites in Germany, in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse, Bavaria, and Saxony. The long-standing enterprise also operates its own sales offices in the United States and Canada as well as in Brazil, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Denmark, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, the United Kingdom, France, Norway, Dubai and India.