International Body Look 2007

13th Body, Beach & Legwear Innovation Forum on 21 July 2007 in Düsseldorf Successful Duo for the Future: Fashion & Function “Fashion and Underwear caught between Beauty and Function” is the theme the Igedo Company has given the 13th Body, Beach and Legwear Innovation Forum to be held on 21 July 2007 at the Hotel Intercontinental on Düsseldorf’s Königsallee

The days when consumers had to choose between fashion and function are over.
This ‘either-or’ conundrum has now also become a profitable ‘not only-but also’. On the one hand here, we see the high functional added value offered by many trendoriented lingerie and underwear labels and, on the other, increasing fashion demands made by many typical sports brands.
“The once clear borders between fashion lingerie and functional underwear are now becoming blurred,” explains Sabine Schommer, Project Manager at Body Look (22 to 24 July 2007) who also shares responsibility for the Innovation Forum held on the eve of this Body, Beach and Legwear fair. One key target group is the wealthy 50 plus generation, on the one hand, who wants underwear and lingerie offering both fashion and function. On the other, there is an active sporty group that, studies show, prefer to buy their sports underwear from specialist underwear stores rather than sports shops. “Experts from the field of corporate consulting, training, medicine and marketing will be elucidating on this multi-facetted topic from numerous different perspectives and showing how profitable the combination of fashion and function can be for both the industry and retail trade,” said Sabine Schommer.

Kicking off Germany’s unique platform in this sector will be Frank Hartmann, Managing Director of the Igedo Company, who in his introductory speech will be discussing topics ranging from beauty to sport and from function to age, health and wellness. After this Hermann Fuchslocher, Managing Director of corporate consultants Hermann Fuchslocher Unternehmensberatung, Düsseldorf, will be illustrating the dynamic market potential of ‘underwear and more’ for the retail trade. What are high-tech fibres in actual fact? What can they do and how important will they be in the present and the future? Answers to these, and other questions, will be given by Prof. Dr. Marie-Louise Klotz, Dean of the Lower Rhine University of Applied Sciences, Mönchengladbach.
We know underwear does a whole lot more than just keep the body warm and decorate it from time to time. However, thank to ingenious fibres and materials clothing may now also be able, for instance, to protect us from negative environmental influences like electro smog or keep the body temperature stable.
The importance of underwear from a medical point of view is a topic dealt with by Gelsenkirchen-based physiotherapist Hanno Irle (who also worked as medical supervisor to the FIFA World Cup in 2006). Combining sport, underwear, fashion and function in a way that makes sense is a real challenge. Explaining the means to rise to this challenge in a profitable way will be Sylvie Nützel-Lange, Marketing & Fashion Consulting at Invista Deutschland GmbH in Hattersheim am Main.
The closing panel discussion hosted by Sabine Schommer offers participants at the 13th Innovation Forum the chance to ask any questions they may have or share any experiences. Alongside speakers at the Forum this discussion will also feature other experts like Barbara Fendt (Outlast), Elke Giese (DMI), Maryan Mehlhorn (Maryan Beachwear Group), Günther Dix (Triumph International) and Oliver-Daniel Bogatu
(Cognis GmbH).
The 13th Innovation Forum will close in the evening with a joint dinner at the Hotel Intercontinental where delegates can discuss all they have seen and heard and also the day ahead at Body Look opening the following day.