The designers of children's readymade clothes are now getting prepared for the autumn/winter 2011 season. Designers, shop owners and traders recently unveiled the latest fashions for newborns, girls and boys at the 26th 2010 International Kids' Fashion Show and Exhibition, also called Défilé Kids, held at the Cairo International Conference Centre in Nasr City. The exhibition included everything the wholesale traders need: children's clothes, knitwear, footwear, textiles and other necessities. "The exhibition welcomed Egyptian, Arab and foreign wholesale traders, showcasing high-quality and competitively priced kids' clothes made in Egypt," said Hisham Bekdash, one of the exhibitors in the three-day exhibition, which ran from July 30 to August 1. He said that this specialised exhibition allowed traders in kids' fashions to see a lot in a very brief time, adding that it will help market Egyptian children's clothes to foreign traders who visited the exhibition. "We are competing with the trendiest European lines and fashion houses. The most fashionable colours for kids' socks this season are purple, grey, black and basics colours like white and beige,” explained Bekdash. "Our exports of Egyptian 100 per cent cotton-made socks mainly go to the Gulf countries and Europe, but we are hoping to penetrate the US markets,” stressed Bekdash. Ramy Makram, another exhibitor and the owner of Ramy Tex for Newborn Clothes, said that fashions for six-week-old babies don't change. “Newborns need certain clothes that should be easy-to-wear at that age, when a baby's body is very fragile," he explained. Makram added that most of his exports are to Gulf countries, where the designs on babies' clothes differ: in Arab countries, you shouldn't have pictures of animals or people on clothes, but things like cars and trains are fine. "For their six-week-old babies, mothers usually buy a dozen of everything, in lots of different colours, as tiny children have to have their clothes constantly changed. We don't normally use 100 per cent cotton, because it takes a long time to dry and it can also shrink," he stressed. “Children's fashions nowadays aren't very different from adults'. When parents buy clothes for their kids they should get them everything they need at once, not just a pair of trousers or a skirt,” said Tareq Afify, the Sales Manager for Passport Kidswear Shop. “For kids' clothes, we bring in designs, materials and methods of printing from countries like Turkey and France, which makes the prices high. Children also love bright, attractive colours,” said Reda Mohamed Ali, another exhibitor and an owner of a factory that manufactures children's clothes. Défilé Kids is held twice a year, featuring the latest lines in children's fashions for the spring/summer and autumn/winter seasons respectively. Now in its 26th edition and, with more than 255 local and international exhibitors, Défilé Kids (Tots 2 Teens), Egypt's number one fashion show and exhibition for children's wear and necessities, is the most important regional hub for the industry. Many traders are worried that, as the holy fasting month of Ramadan and Eid el-Fitr (Lesser Bairam) are falling before the autumn/winter 2011 season, the public might spend their money on necessities for these occasions, rather than buying children's clothes.
