Bread & Butter Youngstars | Book closed on "kidswear"

The promoters of Bread & Butter had quite a lot on their plates last weekend, with aspirations to promote a super “urban”, “cool” and “fresh” new kids' wear trade fair that finally went sour. Set to take place from July 15-17 – ten days after B & B – it was meant to provide small and larger children's clothes brands with the chance to present themselves on the grounds of the former Tempelhof airport. But especially the latter's interest began to fade, strong-selling players remained unimpressed by the concept of the show and withdrew from the project entirely in April 2011. “With such a small number of participants, we will not be able to follow through with such an independent, unconventional event. Unfortunately, we were unable to put our ambitious plans into practice. That is why we have decided to close the book on 'kidswear', announced Bread & Butter's executive director Karl-Heinz Müller.

Just last summer, the “B&B Kids Camp” concept panned out beautifully. It ran parallel to the Bread & Butter fair. 45 children's fashion labels presented themselves on Tempelhof's former airfield, embedded in a colorful carneval-themed scenery and shielded by a red and blue Roncalli circus tent. This year, Karl-Heinz Müller had wanted to break fresh ground. “The way we perceived it, the industry was looking for a change because a number of protagonists were unhappy with the existing situation.”

Whether it was high space rents, an inconvenient time slot or the established competition (like the “Pitti Bimbo” fair in Florence), the fact remains that the Kidswear industry follows its own set of rules and structures. An unfortunate outcome for Berlin, which had been raking in sky-high praise for its innovative fashion scene, and a major disappointment for over 70 small local and newcomer labels and over 3000 registered retailers and buyers that had registered by last April.

(sjb)