Pitti Immagine Bimbo 94

11 - 13 January 2022
Florence, Fortezza da Basso
Final report

The 94th edition of Pitti Bimbo took place from 11 to 13 January 2022 at the Fortezza da Basso in Florence, in conjunction with Pitti Uomo and within a context that was undoubtedly complicated. With determination, though, we stayed committed to the choice we made since the beginning of the pandemic: to stay close to companies and buyers, pursuing the interest of the entire fashion system. We are satisfied with the challenges we overcome: we presented a selection of innovative kidswear collections, guaranteeing our brands a fair complying with the highest safety standards. We have welcomed Italian and foreign buyers who see Pitti Bimbo as a fundamental step for their work. We put under the spotlight the event and its protagonists. 
For these results, we firstly want to thank the entire Pitti Bimbo community, who believed in our work and our ability to deliver.

THE PROTAGONIST BRANDS

11 - 13 January
2022
  • BRANDS
    THAT PRESENTED THEIR FALL-WINTER 2022 COLLECTIONS IN FLORENCE
    170
  • BRANDS
    FROM ABROAD (60% OF TOTAL)
    102
Most of the brands (159) chose to be present at the Fortezza da Basso with their own exhibition space and online on Pitti Connect as well.
Only 7 brands participated exclusively online on the digital platform Pitti Connect.

THE BUYERS AT THE FORTEZZA DA BASSO

During the three days of Pitti Bimbo, which was held at the Fortezza concomitantly with Pitti Uomo, the participants consisted of:

11 - 13 January
2022
  • professionals in total
    (buyers + agents and representatives + suppliers + media operators)
    1.978
  • total buyers
    1.288
  • Italian buyers
    929
  • foreign buyers
    (28% OF TOTAL)
    359
  • BUYERS’ COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN
    40
In the ranking of foreign markets at the trade show, France is in the lead, followed by Poland, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Russia, Holland, Germany, United Kingdom, Greece and Ukraine.

 

PREMIUM BUYERS


Buyers from some of the most important international stores, boutiques, department stores and on-line retailers attended Pitti Bimbo at the Fortezza.  The names present included:

Al Garawi (Saudi Arabia), Alfa International - Harvey Nichols Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), AW Rostamani (UAE), Baby Marlen (Ukraine), Browns (UK), Coltorti (Italy), Cuccuini (Italy), Delitto e Castigo (Spain), Divo (Italy), Galeries Lafayette (France), Giglio Bagnara (Italy), Hankyu Hanshin (Japan), Harvey Nichols Londra (UK), Harvey Nichols Kuwait (Kuwait), Julian Fashion (Italy), ITK (Latvia), Level (UAE), Lodenfrey (Germany), Minetti Angelo (Italy), Peter Pan (Italy), Playground (Italy), Podium Almaty (Kazakhstan), Rinascente (Italy), Ritz Mantovani (Italy), Siola (Italy), Strolz (Austria), Takashimaya (Japan), The Business (UK).

Some of them, through the BUYERS SELECT online format, shared a special selection of unmissable brands for contemporary kidswear wardrobes with the Pitti Bimbo community. These included names like: Marco Scherillo (Siola, Italy), Daniele Basilico (Harvey Nichols Kuwait, Kuwait), Laurence Dekowski, Emmanuelle Sentis, Edwige Berthault (Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche, France), Shana Laub (Shan and Toad, USA).

Here is some feedback collected from buyers during the fair:

I found Pitti Bimbo well thought out with a wide selection of brands. Having the opportunity to meet brand representatives and other buyers face-to-face allowed me to understand how the pandemic has influenced design, how needs have changed, and the direction of new trends. I found the brands' offers very multifaceted. In general, I really liked the "locally made" approach of many companies and their focus on sustainability: one of the most vital features in children's collections. It was also very interesting to discover new objects and accessories, such as those from the Editorial dedicated to board games, especially now that children spend a lot of time at home.

— Funda Mumcuoglu, head of buying at Harvey Nichols Kuwait - Alshaya Group

I have been attending Pitti Bimbo for several years now, and as a buyer in the luxury kidswear sector, the fair is an unmissable appointment on my calendar. At this edition, the fair is smaller due to the situation we are experiencing, but the quality remains high. I was looking mainly for new experimental brands, and I found several exciting ones, especially collections of dresses, toys, and clothing for babies. The organization was as brilliant as ever.

— Rachel Band, luxury kidswear buyer of the AW ROSTAMANI group (UAE)

I must say that the lower turnout of this edition, due to the reasons we all know, allowed me to see the fair more carefully. There is a strong presence of Made in Italy collections but also small emerging brands with which I congratulated, for the excellent research work done, especially with the mono products lines. Not taking part in this edition would have been like closing the doors of my shop, and instead, I chose to open them: I came to Pitti Bimbo determined and willing to be there, and I really appreciated the exhibitors that have expressed the same desire. I really liked the set-up and, above all, the careful attention paid to safety.

— Cristina Simionato, owner of PETERPAN (Italy)

A edition focused on sustainability. The layout of Bimbo was correct: the two sections were clear and coherent. For me, the most important thing is to check the trends. In just one or two days, I can have a clear vision of the trends that matter, which helps me focus my buying. I also find the networking that we do relevant: we always return home with many interesting contacts and the different conversations with other buyers are useful to see other points of view on the industry. More and more brands are focusing on innovative materials and are very concerned with being respectful of the environment. I appreciated visiting the Sustainable Style area.

— Rosalia Alfonso, boutique PALMAS PALMITAS (Spain)

PRESS AND MEDIA FEEDBACK

240 journalists and media operators attended Pitti Bimbo 94.

61 foreign journalists and media operators were accredited mainly from: Spain, France, Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Japan and Brazil.

Here are some of the daily papers, magazines, on-line publications and TV stations that followed the fair reporting on news and trends:

Asahi.com (Japan), Corriere della Sera (Italy), Elle (Russia), Elle Kids (Italy), F Magazine (Italy), Fashion Forum (Denmark), Fashion Magazine (Italy), Fashionnetwork (France), Fashion United (The Netherlands), Fashion Snoops (USA), Highsnobiety (USA), Il Sole 24 Ore (Italy), Journal du Textile (France), La Repubblica (Italy), Lemon Magazine (Portugal), Litte Kin Journal (Denmark), Mediaset (Italy), MF Fashion (Italy), Milk Magazine (France), Momolo.com (Spain), Ninsmoda (Spain), Yoyorama (Spain), Pambianco (Italy), Pirouetteblog (UK), QN Quotidiano Nazionale (Italy), RAI (Italy), Scimparello Magazine (Italy), Style Piccoli (Italy), WWD (USA).

AMONG THE MAIN INITIATIVES
NICOLETTA COSTA AND ILLUSTRABIMBI
The famous writer and illustrator of children's books, Nicoletta Costa, designed the new Illustrabimbi collection, made to wear fairytale characters. The author herself was also the protagonist of an event at the Todo Modo Dilà children's bookshop in Florence.

THE STYLE PICCOLI EXHIBITION AT THE FORTEZZA
Style Piccoli magazine combined the concept of Pitti Uomo + Pitti Bimbo with an exhibition of portraits made by Amina Marazzi Gandolfi, from an idea of fashion stylist Daniela Stopponi: “Attenti a quei due [Watch out for those two]”, 15 portraits featuring children and their dads.

SCIMPARELLO MAGAZINE LIVE AT THE FORTEZZA
During the days of the fair, Petra Barkhof and Enrico Fragale Esposito, respectively editor-in-chief and deputy editor-in-chief of Scimparello Magazine, created instant outfits for the Pitti Bimbo community.

INSTAGRAM REELS
A series of Instagram Reels, published on the Pitti Bimbo profile and relaunched by the protagonist brands and their buyers.

PIROUETTE’S REELS
Katie Kendrick, chief editor of kidswear blog Pirouette, has created Instagram video diaries with interviews to exhibitors and other Pitti Bimbo key figures.

THE BLOGGERS
The fair was also reported on through the special lens of bloggers. A wide and varied audience, passionate about fashion and kidswear, which has contributed to giving the Pitti Bimbo brands more visibility, sharing collections and styles on social media.

Pitti Connect: record numbers on the digital platform

RECORD OF VISITS ON THE ONLINE PLATFORM
The digital platform, online until 28 February, recorded these results in the period monitored:

7 December - 28 February
2022
  • ACCREDITED MEMBERS OF THE TRADE*
    2.122
  • TOTAL PAGES VIEWED*
    185.821
  • Visits*
    44.989
  • Average session time*
    1' 33''
  • Average pages consulted per visit*
    4,13
*data from 7/12/2021 to 28/2/2022

Pitti Connect proved to be an indispensable and complementary tool to the physical fair. At this edition, the digital platform recorded excellent performances, the best ever, thus validating the trend shown by the partial data published at the end of January. Pageviews, operators' visits, and logins continued to grow. Clearly, the platform has established itself among buyers and the press as a way to research brands, discover trends, contact exhibitors, facilitate relationships, and do business.

 

BUYERS ON PITTI CONNECT 

PREMIUM BUYERS

Buyers from some of the most important international shops, boutiques, department stores, and online retailers visited this edition of Pitti Bimbo on Connect. Among them:

Abc (Lebanon), Al Tayer Insignia (United Arab Emirates), Ali Bin Ali Group (Qatar), Baby Bottega (Italy), Baby Kochs (Germany), Bergdorf Goodman (United States), Blufrida (Italy), Boboli (Belgium), Carmen Cortesi (Italy), Childrensalon (UK), Childsplay (UK), Daniel Boutique (Russia), Divo (Italy), El Corte Ingles (Spain), Engelhorn Mode (Germany), Fenwick (UK), Galeries Lafayette (France), Hankyu Hanshin (Japan), Happy Land (South Korea), Jofre 1929 (Spain), Kadewe (Germany), Kids 21 (Singapore), Kids Cavern (UK), Korbmayer (Germany), Lodenfrey (Germany), Ma Mere (Japan), Mercury - Tsum (Russia), Motta Baby (Italy), Neiman Marcus (United States), Peter Pan (Italy), Ricriation (Principality of Monaco), Ron Herman (Japan), Rubaiyat (Saudi Arabia), Sambo (Italy), Serafino (Japan), Shinsegae (South Korea), Sinteks Group - Decor (Azerbaijan), Siola (Italy), The Kids Company (United States), Tiddlywinks (United Kingdom), Zucchero (Italy).

 

Buyers who logged in on Pitti Connect:

1.608 total buyers
934 Italian buyers (+58%)
674 foreign buyers (+42%)

The main countries from which the platform was accessed:
United Kingdom, Russia, Spain, Germany, Belgium, United States, Greece, France, Japan, Poland, Holland, South Korea, Turkey, Austria, Israel, Portugal, Ukraine, Switzerland, Brazil, China, Ireland, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Canada, Kuwait, Argentina, Azerbaijan, United Arab Emirates, Norway.

 

PRESS AND MEDIA ON CONNECT

182 Italian and international journalists and media operators logged in and visited the fair.

Main countries of origin: Russia, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Canada, Brazil, Spain, United States, Argentina, Poland, Turkey, Denmark, Peru, Portugal, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, Romania, Japan, Montenegro, Greece.

Here are some of the newspapers, magazines, online publications, and TV channels that followed Pitti Bimbo 94 online:
Ansa (Italy), Buro 247 (Russia), Childood Business (Germany), Corriere della Sera (Italy), Elle (Russia), Elle Kids (Italy), F Magazine (Italy), Fashion Forum (Denmark), Fashion Magazine (Italy), Fashionnetwork (France), Fashion United (The Netherlands), Fashion Snoops (USA), Highsnobiety (USA), Hub Style (Italy), Il Sole 24 Ore (Italy), Io Donna - Corriere della Sera (Italy), Journal du Textile (France), Kids à la mode (USA), La Repubblica (Italy), Lemon Magazine (Portugal), Marie Claire (Italy), Mediaset (Italy), MF Fashion (Italy), Milk Magazine (France), Momolo.com (Spain), Ninsmoda (Spain), Yoyorama (Spain), Pambianco (Italy), Pirouetteblog (UK), QN Quotidiano Nazionale (Italy), RAI (Italy), Scimparello Magazine (Italy), Style Piccoli (Italy), Wallpaper (United Kingdom), WWD (USA).

 

THE BILLBOARD

In parallel with the physical show, Pitti Connect presented an intense editorial program of special projects, exclusive formats, and events that went online on The Billboard. The highly curated published content was then relaunched through 18 newsletters and our social media channels. 96 posts published on Instagram reached over three million unique accounts and generated 11,769 interactions, for a total of over 31,000 followers (+2,000 compared to the summer edition). In this way, we have amplified the visibility of the Pitti Bimbo brands and their collections, offering an in-depth view of the trends in international kidswear for the next season.

43 planned content items
18.538 pages viewed *

The online editorial projects included:
  • I WANT TO BE GREEN: A focus on the brands that bring kidswear in line with the “eco-conscious” momentum of the new generations;
  • WALK THROUGH: The latest kidswear innovations presented through across-the-board style itineraries where it is possible to find combinations, suggestions, useful creative ideas and the best brand mix expressions.
  • THE NEST: The Pitti Bimbo hotbed of budding brands curated by Dimitra Zavakou selecting small but already exciting new lines.
  • PITTI BIMBO EDITORIALS: The children’s lifestyle universe, explored with curiosity and passion by fashion editor Maria Giulia Pieroni. At this edition, "The magic box” theme is dedicated to the most beautiful games, and "Instantly outdoor" presents the right accessories for the cold season;
  • AROUND KIDS: A virtual journey through the world of children at every latitude.
  • BUYERS SELECT: A chat with top international buyers to learn about kidswear trends.
  • LO STILE TRA LE PAGINE – DALL'ARTE ALLA MODA: Illustrated books for young and old that offer cues for talking about fashion, curated by the Style Piccoli journalist, Oriana Picceni.