Performance Days - functional fabric fair

Between Mega-City and K2 – forward-looking inspirations for sports

presented at Performance Days
in Munich, on Tuesday 22nd November 2011 at 11h30
in Annecy, on Thursday 24th November 2011 at 14h30
By Mrs Nora Kühner, Secretary General of IDEAS

Nora Kühner is working as freelance designer mainly focussing on apparel collections for active sports and leisure. Numerous well-known international brands have been among her customers. She is vice-president of the international designers´ network IDEAS. Since the edition for summer 2008 she is in charge of the group´s colour forecast. Based upon the IDEAS colour forecast she lectures about trends & colours for the sports industry at important trade-fairs.

Starting from the status quo of sports Nora Kühner presents a closer look at trends in architecture and town planning,  industrial and graphic design, art and music and follows social developments as well. What issues might influence and change future active wear? Listen and draw your conclusions for your own brand!

The world moves faster everyday. Social, cultural and economic changes are driven by technological progress. What themes will influence sports and sports apparel collections?

Throughout the last decade innovation in sports apparel has come mainly from the material and the way to manufacture these materials. Starting from the status quo

of sports apparel design Nora Kühner presents a closer look at trends in architecture and town planning, industrial and graphic design and follows social developments as well. Design reacts to these developments. How will the framework conditions for product development alter?

More and more people live in urban spaces with millions of inhabitants – nature is out of reach in daily life. How does this change sports and the way of practising sports? What will be the demands of the end consumer concerning sportswear?

Markets in Western Europe are shrinking and so are the populations. Moreover: The populations are getting significantly older. How to overcome the gap between the markets in Western Europe and the upcoming young markets in other parts of the world in the appeal of collections?

Last but not least: What will be the role of designers and product managers in a prolific connected world where the consumer acts as co-creator? Can crowd solutions be incorporated in industrial product development?