Little Style Magazine | KIDS.FASHION.TRENDS

TRADE FAIR
PLAYTIME NEW YORK
A successful first
“SOLO” EDITION
This winter, Playtime New
York chose to liberate itself
from the American trade
show calendar and follow the
beat of its own drummer. By shifting its
dates to mid-February, the organizers
felt that they could better address the
needs of professionals being pulled in
too many directions by trade shows that
were either too early or too late in the
season. And what better way to show its
love for children’s fashion than by
choosing to open on Valentine’s day?
And that is how 170 children’s brands
came together February 14 - 16 at the
Metropolitan Pavilion to present their
Fall/Winter 2016/17 collections. Which is
13% more compared to last season,
ranging from ready-to-wear, accessories,
decoration items to gifts, to offer a
complete and creative presentation of
all the universes of children.
In addition to the usual suspects (akid
brand, atsuyo et akiko, bacabuche, beau
loves, bobo choses, devon’s drawer, everbloom,
herschel, jess brown, little creative
factory, maá / manuela de juan,
misha and puff, nobodinoz, oaks of
acorn, oeuf, rose pistol kids, sons +
daughters eyewear, tia cibani kids, tinycottons,
…), visitors also discovered the
38% of brands exhibiting for the very fi
rst time, at Playtime New York, who
were attracted by the selective approach
of the show’s organizers.
Some came from far away to meet the
American market (47% were American
IN DETAIL
brands + 53% came from the rest of the
world). 1,947 professional visitors
braved the arctic temperatures to attend
the show, meaning an increase of 7%
and a new record attendance.
In detail, the majority of visitors were
American (84%), with a strong East
Coast showing (87%). The proportion of
buyers/press was maintained and refl
ected a level of quality that guaranteed
rich interactions amongst professionals.
Diving into the theme of ‘Marvelous!’,
the crème de la crème of buyers and specialized
press were able to discover the
future trends in the show’s dedicated
trend spaces:
• The ‘Winter Wonderland’ theme
space, designed by artist Tara Linzalone,
presented the lush wardrobes of the little
queens and kings of the snow.
•‘Frozen Landscapes’, designed by artist
Alex Hammond, proved to be the
ideal setting to highlight subtle mixes
of mineral colors and warm and cozy
textures.
• Finally, creativity was given
free reign in the ‘Surreal Utopia’
theme space, designed by Cecilia
Elguero, where bright colors
and arty patterns were on
display. www.taralinzalone.com •
www.alexhammondart.com • www.
ceciliaelguero.com
In order to inspire buyers,
but also act as a brand consultant,
Playtime also proposed,
in collaboration with its partner
Earnshaw’s, a conference on the theme
of the Mobile Revolution. www.earnshaws.
com
And finally, to leave visitors with
pleasant memories of these three days,
Babiekins and Kid’s Wear invited visitors
to be photographed in a vintage
photo booth, or in front of the poetic
panels illustrated by Elsa Dray-Farges.
www.kidswear-department.com • www.babiekinsmag.com
268 MAY/JUN 2016