PITTI BIMBO IS DEFINITELY THE WORLD’S REFERENCE POINT FOR JUNIOR FASHIONS: PLENTY OF CREATIVITY IN THE STANDS AND A STRONG FOCUS ON PRODUCT AT THE FORTEZZA DA BASSO

The best names in children’s fashions and the world’s top buyers got together at Pitti Bimbo 69, over the three days of the event at the Fortezza da Basso, the starting point for the trends, themes, fabrics and colors for spring-summer 2010, to show and touch the new collections and see the new projects. 

“This was a good edition of Pitti Bimbo”,  says Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Immagine, and we were able to clearly feel the creative and business energies that characterize children’s fashions. The buyers who came to Florence – and they included representatives form the world’s most important stores and department stores such as Barneys (New York), Harrods (London), Isetan (Tokyo), Galeries Lafayette (Paris), Bosco dei Ciliegi (Moscow), Harvey Nichols (Riyadh), Saks Fifth Avenue (Dubai), Villa Moda (Kuwait) – really admired our vendors’ collections along with the quality of presentation layouts, the events, the fashion shows and all the promotional projects.  Considering the problems that cloud the horizon and the crisis in international consumer spending, the final attendance figures for this fair are decidedly encouraging”.

This edition of Pitti Bimbo brought 3,320 stores to Florence (there were 3,589 at the last summer edition, a 7% drop), with a total of 6,900 buyers.  Nearly 10,000 visitors attended over the three days of the event.  The number of Italian buyers held firm, confirming the levels of attendance seen at the last edition – an important sign of an upturn in the domestic market.  The numbers of foreign buyers were not so good, with budget cuts for travel expenses beginning to have an effect.     

Spain once again came out on top of the foreign countries attending (301), followed by Germany (255), Greece (174), France (156), Belgium (146), Russia (134), Holland (120), United Kingdom (109), Japan (63), United States (57), Syria (55), Israel (54), Switzerland (53), Brazil (49) and Portugal (44). 

Buyers and press dedicated plenty of attention to the rich calendar of events for this edition which included 11 regular miniature catwalk shows and many other events organized by the various Pitti Bimbo companies at the Fortezza da Basso and around town.


And here are some of the comments we heard from buyers at Pitti Bimbo 69:

Odile Morvan, buying manager children & toys, GALERIES LAFAYETTE, Paris “For me it is essential to come to Pitti Bimbo to see all the most important brands in children’s fashion at once and in the same place - from the infants’ to teen collections – and get truly global view of the market. I find the fair well organized by styles and I found the Apartment and New View sections particularly interesting. In general I believe that the collections are segmented in a very recognizable way”.

Nobuhiro Morota, president, MOROTA CORPORATION - Tokyo 
“For us it is very useful to see a fair like Pitti Bimbo, because it is much more international than the other shows. Here I can perceive what is happening on the world market, and understand the trends – and the care dedicated to the layout and how the collections are presented is very helpful. I see many companies interested in Made in Italy children’s clothing and I believe that we will be showing many Italian collections in our stores for the next spring-summer season”. 

Annalise Quest, general merchandise manager,  HARRODS - London  
“This seems to be a very good edition of Pitti Bimbo: going around the stands it does seem a bit quieter than others, but I am getting a very positive impression, and the exhibitors are showing beautiful collections. We have found several new brands here for our department store and I am quite sure that we will carry them for the next spring-summer season. Coming to Pitti Bimbo is essential for seeing the new trends and getting a global overview – even among collections that really don’t interest us”.

Helen Abraha, buyer, HARVEY NICHOLS – Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 
“Pitti Bimbo is the world’s best show for children’s wear; we come here to buy children’s fashions in all styles, from classical-formal to sportswear via smart-casual and denim. Of course, this season seems a little quieter than last time, but the layout for showing the collections is excellent and I am seeing lots of interesting new names that we always look for to carry in our stores. The children’s wear market in Saudi Arabia is really big and growing continuously,  families love to dress their children elegantly and stylishly and in general they are able to spend large sums”.

Maria Colla and Paola Alluvione, from the IL GERMOGLIO store, - Alba, – Cuneo
“This Pitti Bimbo is livelier and more sparkling than ever with the exhibitors devoting great care to how they show their collections and a very open general attitude. Over the past few seasons even the children’s wear market has become more difficult, so we have to show our customers the right items, with a different added value and appropriate prices – we need suppliers who research their products and not just their image. And so, we are very happy to see the new sections like Eco-Ethic and manufacturers that have a real philosophy behind the product. For the coming spring-summer we see a strong return to the natural, to biological yarns, to a desire for white and a product with a Made in Italy philosophy that is respectful of children and their world”.