World Footwear

Interview

Dr. Tatjana Spahiu: digital technologies are reshaping the footwear industry

Premium ContentJul 30, 2025 / Albania
We spoke to Dr. Tatjana Spahiu, an Associate Professor at the Polytechnic University of Tirana, to understand the current influence of digital technologies and how they will change the future of the footwear industry. Our conversation focused on key areas such as sustainability, skills development and young talent training

Latin American Footwear Forum 2025: regional collaboration is a strategic necessity

Jul 30, 2025 / Latin America
Amid a challenging trade environment, the Latin American Footwear Forum is set to return from the 13th to the 15th of August with a more focused and action-driven agenda. We spoke to Horacio Moschetto, head of the Argentine Chamber of the Footwear Industry (CIC), to gain further insight into the event

New Generation: meet Tom Daniel from Rivonti

Jul 29, 2025 / Portugal
Born in the Netherlands and raised in Portugal, Daniel Rivonti has recently launched Rivonti, a leather goods brand that blends classic luxury with bold and modern design. Let's get to know him

Andy Polk from the Footwear Innovation Foundation: changing the industry from reactive to visionary

Premium ContentJul 21, 2025 / United States
We spoke to Andy Polk, Executive Director of the Footwear Innovation Foundation and Vice President of the FDRA, to learn more about the newly established Foundation and its most recent initiative, the Footwear LaunchPad

Eva Haak from AMI: Polymers in Footwear 2025 spotlights innovation and networking

Premium ContentJul 9, 2025 / United States
We spoke to Eva Haak, Conference Production Manager at AMI’s Polymers in Footwear Conference. We learned more about this year’s event, which will happen in Portland on July 16th and 17th

Darla-Jane Gilroy from GFFC: the first anniversary has laid the groundwork, now we are building on it

Premium ContentJun 30, 2025 / United Kingdom
In this second part of our interview with Darla-Jane Gilroy, Founder of GFFC, we talked about the coalition’s reflections on its first anniversary, the inaugural symposium attended by 150 invited delegates and the organisation's view of the future of the footwear industry

The UITIC Congress is a platform for information exchange and cooperation in the footwear industry

Jun 27, 2025 / UITIC
We spoke to Li Yuzhong, chairman of the China Leather Industry Association (CLIA), to find out more about the upcoming UITIC Congress, which will return to China from the 31st of August to the 3rd of September

Darla-Jane Gilroy: the Global Footwear Future Coalition (GFFC) is uniting the industry

Premium ContentJun 23, 2025 / United Kingdom
We spoke to Darla-Jane Gilroy, Founder of GFFC. In the first part of our interview, we talked about the creation of the coalition, its four main areas of action and the necessity of a collaborative, pre-competitive space to address systematic challenges within the footwear industry

New Generation: Inês Ferreira from Paradigma

Jun 10, 2025 / Portugal
Inês Ferreira, who has a degree in Management from Católica Porto Business School, is the second generation to lead the Paradigma company

Torben Schütz (HDS/L): the Barefoot European Shoe Fair is the beginning of a success story

Premium ContentMay 26, 2025 / Germany
We spoke to Torben Schütz, Deputy Managing Director at the Federal Association of German Footwear and Leather Goods Industry, to learn more about the upcoming Barefoot European Shoe Fair, the first of its kind in Europe. The preview takes place in the summer in Offenbach, close to Frankfurt

New Generation: meet Diogo Ribeiro from dportus

May 6, 2025 / Portugal
With a master’s in industrial engineering and management, Diogo Ribeiro is the grandson of the founder of the footwear company Campeão Português. He has recently launched dportus, a B2B shoe platform

Elizabeth Semmelhack from the Bata Shoe Museum: It has been a remarkable 30 years

Premium ContentApr 30, 2025 / Canada
We spoke to Elizabeth Semmelhack, Director and Senior Curator at the Bata Shoe Museum, to learn more about the preparations for the museum’s 30th anniversary. Among other topics, we talked about current and upcoming exhibitions

New Generation: João Ferreira from Paradigma

Apr 22, 2025 / Portugal
With a degree in management, João Ferreira is at the helm of Paradigma, a 100% Portuguese brand owned by the second generation of a shoemaking family that has been in business since 1987

Maria José Ferreira from CTCP : BioShoes4All aims to position Portugal to lead in the development of sustainable solutions

Premium ContentApr 8, 2025 / Portugal
We spoke to Maria José Ferreira, Director of Research at CTCP and Coordinator of the BioShoes4All project. We discussed some of the current environmental issues affecting the footwear industry and how Portugal is positioning itself to address these sustainability challenges

Paula Maestro from AIMPLAS: the ECOFAP project was born to give a useful life to the waste of the footwear industry

Premium ContentMar 31, 2025 / Spain
We spoke to Paula Maestro, a researcher at AIMPLAS and of the ECOFAP project, which aims to solve the problem of recycling leather offcuts in footwear manufacturing. We talked about the projects’ objective, partnerships and anticipated impact on the sector
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