The fashion trade fairs of the Dutch trade fair organizer and trading platform Cast are only a few years old, but they are growing quickly. Women’s and men’s fashion soon had their own trade fairs, and the Preview Men’s exhibition space was recently significantly expanded. The growth also means that the children’s segment cannot remain unserved. Marijn Verschure, general director of the trade fair organizer Cast, announced that the Preview Kids would take place in July 2023. The first edition took place for the first time on Monday at the Cast building in Nieuwegein, near Utrecht, setting the bar high for future editions.
Anyone who wasn’t yet in the mood to stock up on winter clothing at the trade fair was immersed in a “winter wonderland” on Monday morning: snowflakes swirled around and Nieuwegein reached freezing point. In the Cast building, over 150 brands are waiting for visitors on the first and second floors. It is the first time that a preview trade fair has two floors.
Once inside, it took a while to find the way, but those who paid attention would soon find white signs pointing the way through the maze: up an escalator, ten steps forward, then to the right and the entrance to Preview Kids was on the left side.
The exhibition space was not divided into age groups or sizes; that would be an impossible task – after all, some brands cater to multiple age groups. The baby clothing brand Bess is represented right at the beginning with several baby suits in olive green, beige and earth tones. Further back, Ai&Ko presents its typical girls’ collection and on the second floor you can find brands such as Jack & Jones Junior, Scotch & Soda and Levi’s. What is certain is that you can find what you are looking for at the fair for children aged zero to 14.
Preview Kids: “A good reset for the children’s fashion trade fair landscape”
In the children’s fashion sector, things have been shaking at every turn over the past few trade fair seasons. For example, she showed the Fashion factory Last year, for the first time after the closure of Market by Kleine Fabriek in 2017, children’s fashion returned in collaboration with Drive Inn, but scrapped that idea for the upcoming winter edition – the focus will be on women’s clothing. Drive Inn joins the Preview Kids as a partner. Also at the children’s fashion fair Sunday School several changes were made. Last year, the fair tested a new exhibition concept that allowed buyers to gather more information through conversations. The SundaySchool also received an additional day at the fair. This year the children’s fashion fair was supposed to take place in a new location and with a revised format, but it too was canceled.
Children’s fashion is available nowhere else than at Preview Kids. It’s not for nothing that the mood is good early in the morning. Exhibitors visit each other for a cup of coffee and chat, which soon sets the tone of the day: the trade fair is well organized, people are in the mood and everything is under one roof.
“The children’s fashion landscape is changing a lot. It’s good that there is now a trade fair that can offer everything we and buyers need. It’s a good reset,” Peter Bellekom from PB agencies, who represents brands such as Evers and Stab1Poot at his stand, told FashionUnited. The agency is at the fair to make contacts, as is the girls’ fashion brand Topitm, which has brought a new label: On Top Of The Cake. “We have already built up a nice customer portfolio, but now that we are introducing a new label, we are also looking for new customers,” it says on the stand.
The fact that not only existing customers visit the trade fair is also an advantage for the Belgian fashion brand Lily Balou. The fashion brand wants to establish itself more strongly in the Netherlands. The sustainable brand has been around for more than 12 years now, but is still missing a breakthrough in the neighboring country, says designer Anne de Smedt. “Our main hope now is to spread the word about the brand, but we find that this is sometimes difficult when people don’t know the brand. It’s now up to us to sell, and I think we’ll be able to do that today. The atmosphere at the trade fair is good.”
There is also no lack of atmosphere at the girls’ fashion brand Geisha: “The trade fair is organized down to the smallest detail, you can park here for free, breakfast and lunch are brought over so that we can concentrate entirely on our customers, and very importantly: every brand has equal rights here,” enthuses Ethel Nieuwenstein, sales manager at Geisha. Something similar can be heard at the stands of 4President, Kiezeltje and Hop agencies (which exhibit brands such as Ballin, Diesel, Guess and Sofie Schnoor). “It’s about clothes and not about the fuss around it. Preview gives a ‘foretaste’ of the collections because no matter how big or small a brand is, every stand has the same structure with black clothing racks.
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Behind the scenes at the Preview Kids, employees take over the running
The fact that all brands are equal is exactly the image that trade fair organizer Cast wants to convey. “We want to show that we understand what it’s like to be a salesperson at a trade fair. This is the time to maintain contact with customers and win new customers,” explains Verschure to FashionUnited in an interview at the trade fair. “Participants are given conditions that they must adhere to. Some brands at other shows pull out everything from posters to lawn mats to prosecco. That’s not allowed here. This way we ensure that we create an equal image and that buyers are not overwhelmed by all the hustle and bustle.”
To save exhibitors and buyers the hassle, employees bring coffee and tea with them. Around midday, black carts with sandwiches even appear in the aisles. “The preview employees are running their heels off behind the scenes. We want everyone to have the opportunity to exchange ideas with others without them not coming because there is a long queue at the coffee machine.” By the way, there are still coffee corners on the exhibition area where you can sit and relax Can entertain.
The bar for the first edition is set high – for employees, exhibitors and visitors. The general director himself notices this. “We are suffering from growing pains. We don’t have enough staff, which means we all have to run faster than usual. The original goal was to bring around 100 brands to the trade fair, but there have been many more. In addition, the number of visitors is increasing.”
First Preview Kids sets the bar high for future editions
In fact, the aisles are filled all day with eager shoppers who come to Preview Kids with one goal: to discover new brands and see what their trusted brands have in store for the next winter season.
The owner of the children’s clothing store Rebel & Olive, Marcella Bruin, is very happy that there is “finally” a children’s fashion fair again that offers everything under one roof. “This is where I first get my inspiration. This is good preparation for my shopping, which starts next week. “So a well-organized trade fair is all you need, and that’s what you’ll find here, at Preview Kids,” she says. “Other trade fairs are more bombastic, here everyone is the same. That appeals to me.” The children’s fashion buyers at Wehkamp and Kleertjes.com, Maxime Duijn and Tesir Yasmine Loukili, are of the same opinion: “At this trade fair you are not attracted by a stand. You walk past it and if it speaks to you, you start a conversation. This works very well for us. There’s also a nice mix of brands.”
The No nonsense-The Preview Kids’ charisma is generally very good, but could do with a little less here and there, say Karin Kuipers and Cyrille Hesselink, all-round saleswoman and owner of the children’s fashion store Pien & Mats. “It is sometimes not entirely clear which brand you are browsing between the clothes racks. The signage could be a bit bigger for us. We also took photos of the stands at other trade fairs to get inspiration for my shop windows. That’s not possible here, but I also understand that that’s not the intention here.”
Preview Kids leaves you wanting more
All in all, one can say that the first edition of Preview Kids was successful. Although things were a bit chaotic behind the scenes, this was not noticeable on the exhibition floor. Exhibitors and buyers described the trade fair as accessible, well organized and clear. As far as the exhibitors are concerned, new customers were acquired here and there, such as at Hop Agencies and Geisha, and the buyers once again got what they came for: clothes on racks, no fuss and everything under one roof.
The next edition for children is scheduled for June 24, 2024. Verschure primarily wants to professionalize the organization in the coming period. “We will streamline the backend better. This is better for suppliers, visitors and my own employees. Our focus now is not on growth, but on quality, enforcement and improvement.”
This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.nl. Translated and edited by Simone Preuss.