PORTUGUESE DEBUT IN FLORENCE

From 21 to 23 January, the city of Florence receives another Pitti Bimbo show, which will be attended by 5 Portuguese companies - Chua - Dot - Dr. Kid - Girandola - Knot - with the support of the Associação Selectiva Moda. 

The “made in Portugal” collections on show at the Italian fair, will dictate fashion for autumn/winter 2016/17 and promise to surprise the thousands of visitors to the fair. 

Clothing, accessories and footwear form part of the range to be exhibited by Chua, and the Portuguese brand expects positive results from its participation. “We chose this fair as buyers will be attending from around the world, which boosts our expansion. We aim to attract new customers and agents, as well as enter new markets”, explains Olímpia Teixeira, CEO of the company.

The Christmas collection will be the highlight of DOT delicate baby clothes. “This is one of the most prestigious children’s fairs, so it is important for us to participate. We know that the first time is never easy, but we hope to receive some orders”, reveals Mariana Fernandes, manager of the company. 

Girandola presents its new collections for baby and children for autumn-winter 2016. Lines inspired in the magic imagery of romantic mysteries and adventures featured in the most famous children’s tales, side by side with the cold of the artic and with the heat of the best rock vibes. «Pitti Bimbo is a very interesting exhibition for Girandola, for many reasons. First of all, the brand is known and looked for in Italy for some time, and in 2015 the company has invested in strengthening its position in the market. We are glad to receive agents and retailers in our stand, so that they can better understand the brands essence and build a closer relationship. On the other hand, Pitti is an excellent place to meet once more our partners in different countries and, being a venue that attracts many good companies, allows exhibitors to meet more potential partners for growth», unveils Sandra Ferreira.

“Tomorrow World” is the slogan for the collection presented by Knot. Inspired by the boom of the space age and the concept of life beyond our little world, the collection for the next cold season is a journey through the childhood imagination of space travel where everything is possible. On show will be products for children aged between 0 and 10 years of age, in particular a colour palette that ranges from “jupiter pink” to “Amber” and “Mars”, and where “space blue” predominates. Light cotton, wool and cashmere blends, poplin and viyella are the main highlights in terms of materials. Knot believes that the Pitti Bimbo show «has always been presented as the most comprehensive solution, since it is a fair of an international nature directed towards a target audience that identifies with the brand's values”», states Sara Lemos, international sales manager of the company. Expectations are high «our goal is to not only focus on only the Italian market but also buyers from different markets visiting the PITTI, as it is the largest and most international trade fair for children's clothing. We also hope to contact buyers from major department stores and international websites», she adds.

The 82nd Pitti Bimbo show will have 445 brands exhibiting, 216 of which are international brands, accounting for 46% of the total, within an area covering 47 thousand m2, with around 10 thousand visitors expected.

The participation of the five Portuguese companies in one more Pitti Bimbo edition is an initiative promoted by the Selectiva Moda Association, co-financed by the EU Structural and Investment Funds as part of the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Portugal 2020 and COMPETE 2020. The FROM PORTUGAL project is made up of approximately 81 international activities which take place in the second half of 2015 and in 2016, covering the entire textile and fashion industry and spread over four continents, with a total investment of over 13 million euros.