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Playtime Paris #26

For this edition it was evident that the Playtime team had made an effort to changes things up at the show. The reduction in the number of brands was a good move – allowing more space for the exhibiting labels to show the collections off at their best.

The comments by the designers were positive. The events were embraced and enjoyed by both exhibitors and visitors, whilst the air conditioning worked almost too well with even some grumbles about it being too cold! Though some labels questioned the decision to shift a large proportion of the lifestyle labels to what was previously the maternity section we saw lots of fun gimmicks and design features in the collections by young labels.

Whilst all this was going on fashion illustrator Chris Gambrell excelled in upscaling his wonderful work by pulling looks from some of the SS20 collections at the show…

The Atmosphere

There was an upbeat feel amongst the designers that had been showing with Playtime over the long haul. They were pleased that their concerns had been listened to and acted upon by reducing the number of brands and adding some air conditioning – both issues had been bubbling away for a number of seasons. There seemed to be a nice uptake on the seminars in the devoted spaces. The live art piece by Chris Gambrell for the Pirouette Screen Capture exhibition really engaged both exhibitors and visitors alike. Though it leaves us with the problem of how to follow his brilliant work next season… I was over the moon with the exhibition.

One small piece of advice for the labels… Make sure to place your lookbooks in the press room and check every once in a while to see if they need moving or topping up. Never underestimate the power of a look book! A lot of the Press look through the shelves and like to point out to each other who or what they’ve liked. If the photography catches our attention it’s mentally noted for future articles or talking about with buyers. So with the huge amount of brands exhibiting I expected there to be more promo material on the press room shelves…

Trends

Checks & Tulle continue for SS20…

Kid’s On The Moon: Chic tulle & check combination.

KOKORI: Colourful light summer dresses with bright tulle over skirts to add for a fun quirky look.

COSMOSOPHIE: Warm pinks, reds and off-white checks with a comfortable summer silhouette.

Le Petit Lucas Du Tertre: Bold red and blue check.

Fun gimmick pieces to entice and engage the child

LU KIDS: Heat activated T-shirt dress basics, clean simple yet fun feature.

COMPASSKIDSUK: Camera Flash activated prints:

Go Blue…

WAWA: Simple silhouette and the blue of the season.

Style setters: Scimparello & Smudgetikka goblue

Elsa Dray-Farages blue animal mask

Pirouette Screen Capture: Child to Fashionista

Fashion Illustrator Chris Gambrell took looks from the AW20 collections of Sticky Lemon, Little Creative Factory, Paade Mode, Noe Zoe , Tia Cibani and more during a live art piece over the first two days of the show. Watch the time-lapse video below.

Some favourites

Collection Photography Kaleidoscope: Clay creative and incredibly eye catching!

Caramel: Beautiful abstract floral prints in red & blue from Caramel London

Vild house of little: Making sure that every scrap of material goes to good use!

Weekend House: Oversized sun hats, these were missing from their stand at Pitti but a wonderful addition to their Playtime stand. The oversized hat rim is super to play with up or down – you choose!

FANTASIA TREND SPACE: Elsa Dray-Farages’ animal masks act as the backdrop to the fantasia trend space producing an eye catching scene with favourite pieces from Hannah & Tiff, Coco au Lait & Cherry Papaya – colour popping for SS20.