Kids fashion in Paris, sneak peeks for fall/winter 2020 from the trade show Playtime Paris 2020 today in a quick post before I whizz off to CIFF Youth in Copenhagen tomorrow.
The trade shows in Paris were quiet but some exhibitors were very happy with the orders received.
It seems that buyers are heading to labels that have strong identities and branding, safe and reliable names who they know will deliver and follow up with good marketing campaigns which are spread across the digital world and social media.
I think in general the lack of buyer footfall can be accounted for by the fact that business from individual boutiques has been lost as the small retailer world suffers but that is compensated for by the buying of the larger internet retailers in pure money terms. This does leads to a smaller footfall at the fairs though and a higher risk for brands as they sell to fewer sources.
Paris has its own problems with strikes and in the summer the recent heatwaves which are out of organisers control but which might also be putting some visitors off travel.
If so it would be a shame as the kids fashion on offer is strong both in design terms and quality. This edition of Playtime saw a re-organisation of the layout with lifestyle brands mixed in with fashion which some found confusing but I found it more visually interesting.
I’ve selected some of my favourites from the show below, kids fashion trends seen at Pitti Bimbo continue here with quilting, historical references with big collars, volume sleeves and button and frill details, textures particularly with fleece elements and prints of endangered species that might die out in kids lifetimes.
Playtime Paris was also notable for the launch of The Rendez-Vous, a collective between myself, Katie from Pirouette blog and Petra from Scimparello magazine, we are all long term in the fashion industry and wanted to make a private space to discuss industry issues on Instagram. If you are an industry professional you can join us at