The 100th edition of childrenswear show Pitti Bimbo opened on Wednesday January 22 at the Fortezza da Basso venue in Florence, under a sprinkling of light rain. The show’s centenary edition has been presented as a transformational one, while the childrenswear industry is forced to take stock in the face of slumping consumption. “If you read the number 100 in reverse, it becomes 001,” argued the event’s communication.

Pitti Bimbo brought together 170 exhibitors, 65% of them from outside Italy, and was held over two days, as opposed to three in the past, making it busier. The range of brands on show at the new-look event included, besides ready-to-wear and fashion accessories, also some from the beauty, lifestyle and even food sectors. The latter is a sector that Pitti Immagine, Pitti Bimbo’s organiser, is very familiar with, because its portfolio includes Taste 18, a trade show for the catering industry. By broadening the range of exhibitors, as some of its competitors are doing, Pitti Bimbo is setting out to appeal to concept stores too.

The show’s centenary edition also featured the return of some leading Italian childrenswear names, for example Monnalisa, which had not exhibited since the pandemic. “Childrenswear is a small slice of the bigger fashion industry pie. And the slice is shrinking,” said Matteo Tugliani, CEO of Monnalisa, underlining that the key to continued success lies in boosting client engagement.

Monnalisa came to Pitti Bimbo with a large group of influencer mums and their children, notably seeking to promote the show on social media, ultimately aiming to reach end-consumers. Monnalisa distributes its products online, via the wholesale channel, and through some 40 monobrand stores, and now regards itself as a platform. “We’ve started producing childrenswear collections under licence for the Aeffe group, and we recently entered the second-hand market,” said Tugliani.

According to Leonardo Basagni, managing director of Italian group Miniconf, whose brand portfolio includes Sarabanda and the childrenswear licenses for Ducati and Roy Rogers, the children’s fashion market in Italy remains rather “flat,” but it is streamlining, with smaller players dropping out.

Among other exhibitors were big textile players such as Bestseller from Denmark, which came with four brands, including Only and Name It, as well as new brands like Vélocipède.

The latter was founded in New York by Vitaliy Bukhtulov, and presented a co-ed collection for girls and boys inspired by menswear looks. A successful mix of evergreen and more directional items, designed in Portugal with materials mostly sourced from Nona Source.