Bubble London: How the kids trade show raised its game for a/w18
Junior teamed up with Bubble London one of the biggest and most comprehensive kids’ trades show to celebrate its 10th anniversary... here's the lowdown
For ten years Bubble London has paved the way as the perfect launchpad for new designs in the children’s fashion and lifestyle sector with it's 2-day trade show held at London’s Business Design Centre in Islington. Attended by key buyers seeking fresh new talent, Bubble didn’t disappoint as it celebrated its 10th year as the UK's leading kids trade fair.
Although, this season in particular Bubble raised its game and confirmed its position as the place to be - and as one of its media partners Junior was there to see all the fun, style and action unfold. We also had a dedicated space to showcase our Junior Design Awards #JADA winners, our team were also on hand to chat to the brands face to face - as well, as taking over the Bubble instagram feed during the weekend.
We caught up with some of our favourite labels - who show at Bubble season after season including Rachel Riley (who chose Bubble to launch both her new diffusion fashion line and home collection - more on that soon), Bobux, Mini Melissa, Kissy Kissy, amongst many others - there was also over 80 labels debuting at the show including Balloon Copenhagen, The Faraway Gang, Tao & Friends and Fred’s World by Green Cotton offering buyers the chance to inject some freshness into their stores coming autumn time.
POP the curated area for small brands, new launches and fleeing designer was brought back again this year and sat alongside Bubble Bump - the area dedicated to maternity and nursery brands. But, Bubble really kicked off with its most exciting return to the Bubble Runway. A dazzling mini fashion show featuring a/w 18 trends modelled by children from Creative Kidz and Co. to glittering applause (see our article about the catwalk show here).
One highlight from the final catwalk show on the Sunday evening featured an 'Insta Kids' catwalk scene - with models Farouk James and Harlow Luna White, You Tubers JD The Kidd and Amazing Arabella, Fleur Isted from The Isted Kids and musician JB Gill & his adorable son Ace who strutted their stuff to the delight of the visitors. (See all the insta-kids catwalk pictures.)
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As a platform for new concepts and exclusives this season Bubble introduced the 'agent showroom' pioneered by the Scandi brand focused Breitenstein Agencies who presented all their clients collections from Angulus, Veja, Fub, Mar Mar Copenhagen, MP Denmark, Huttelihut and new Icelandic brand Iglo + Indi all showcased within the same dedicated space.
Commenting on the unique appeal of Bubble, buyer Donna Powell of Trapeze Kids says,
“I think the POP area is the main draw for me at Bubble London - I’m looking for new and innovative, early stage brands, so it is helpful to see a selection together in one area. Another Fox particularly caught my eye, as did Dandydill Way. It was also helpful to see Breitenstein Agencies at the show with its full collections. As I already work with them, it meant I could pack much more buying into a day at the show.”
For Junior it was a chance to meet the people behind the brands and see the labels we want share with you come next season.