Fashion
Ceremonies And Special Occasions 
With the sunshine and blooming flowers of spring comes the time for ceremonies and special occasions! From first communions to weddings, spring holidays, and the overall excitement surrounding the warming weather, we wanted to explore the ins and outs of this niche within the kid’s fashion market. We spoke to several brands and buyers who either specialize in ceremonies and special occasions or have a dedicated seleciton. They offered us insights into the most important design details, what moments they are particularly catering to, and how. Join us as we celebrate the ceremonies and special occasions sector of kid’s fashion!
C’era una volta (Photo by Claudia Cabrero Málaga)When exploring any niche, it’s always interesting to ask the ‘why’ behind it. Why do brands and buyers dedicate their entire business or a significant portion of it to a certain area? For brands like C’era una volta, the choice was obvious. “Every collection is rooted in my Italian heritage, especially the traditions I grew up with in Sardinia. Dressing beautifully for special moments was part of family life,” the brand’s founder and designer, Emanuela, shared with us. Having grown up with special clothes for special occasions like hand-embroidered dresses her mother or grandmother would make for her and her sisters, Emanuela found it a natural extension of C’era una volta to create a dedicated ceremony line.
For Claire, the founder, owner, and lead designer of Petite Hailey, she created her first line to respond to a gap she saw in the market when she was a buyer. She found that it was challenging to find tutu dresses that were beautiful, while still being comfortable for kids to wear. Today, Petite Hailey is well-known for their iconic tutu dresses. Having added new designs each season, Claire says the brand has solidified its reputation in special occasion dresses.
At Global Moda Brands, a distributor with exclusive rights to sell the Brazilian brand Milon in the US and Canada, their focus on special occasion products comes from the requests of the boutiques they work with. “Special looks for holidays, events, and family pictures can help boost their sales and drive brand recognition with their final customers,” Fernanda, Global Moda Brands’ Business Development Sales Executive, told us.
Brands like Patachou, Tartaleta, and Bébé Sweeny were founded with the specific purpose of designing expertly crafted collections that cater to life’s precious moments. “At Patachou, we believe that special occasions are the perfect moment to create lasting memories. We want to make those moments even more memorable with our designs,” the brand’s founder and CEO, Marta, told us. Having started the label with her mother, Marta sees occasionwear as a unique opportunity to bring out the magic in each child. By focusing on these milestones, Patachou is able to provide children with outfits that are elegant, stylish, and reflect the beauty of these moments.
Elena, the founder of Tartaleta, couldn’t agree more. “We believe that every day can become an unforgettable memory. This is why our garments are able to be present in both everyday life and the big moments. It makes us very happy to accompany families with special pieces to celebrate these unique events,” she told us. For fellow family business Bébé Sweeny, it’s all about offering an impeccable, well-coordinated style. “Special occasions are the perfect moment to bring this to life through thoughtful, elegant pieces that create a polished, memorable look,” the brand’s founder and designer, Valérie, told us. She works alongside her own daughter to create the brand’s limited, precious collections.
The brand Macis Design has been creating special occasion dresses for over 25 years. Owned and designed by Marion Chen, we spoke with the brand’s General Manager, Karen to learn more. She told us the brand has several different divisions that cater to different special moments. Macis Design is for first communion, flower girl dresses, and christenings. Bebe Gabrielle caters to informal christenings, newborn outfits, and layettes. Little Treasures is for first birthdays, short christening outfits, and flowers girls. Macis Design also acquired the childrenswear label Joan Calabrese, which has its own dedicated lines for different occasions. Across all of their collections, Macis Design delivers beautiful designs that are high quality and made with exceptional fabrications.
C’era una volta (Photo by Claudia Cabrero Málaga)As for the retailers, La Rondine Occasions, Layla’s Boutique, and Casa Rodríguez are both centered around family and formalwear, too. The current owner of La Rondine Occasions in Canada, Angela, took the store over in 2018. “This is a niche, unique market with very few boutiques that specialize in these products,” she told us. This is why she kept the store’s established speciality when she took over. With her mother and the rest of the La Rondine team, Angela is dedicated to offering an unforgettable client experience. “We know children of all ages usually dread shopping for formalwear. We pride ourselves in making it simple, easy, and fun, so the child can leave with cheerful memories of shopping for their special day. This makes mom and dad happy, too!” she told us.
Layla’s Boutique in Pennsylvania, USA began for the same reason, to fill a gap within the market. “My clients look for pieces that are unique and high quality. The aesthetic they are drawn to radiates a Victorian vibe and vintage charm,” the store’s founder, Caroline, told us. “Long dresses that are elaborate are always sought after in Layla’s,” she continued.
As for Casa Rodríguez in San Sebastien, Spain, it has been a family run store since its beginning in 1928. On its fourth generation of owners today, they sell a bit of everything. From cribs and strollers to clothing for newborns through teens, Casa Rodríguez has it all. They specialize in clothing for special events, which their customers that are often from surrounding towns can’t easily find elsewhere. “It has a very important audience for us,” the current owner, Miren, told us.
As for when, there are a range of ceremonies and special occasions these brands and retailers focus on. Patachou, C’era una volta, and Bébé Sweeny focus mainly on birthdays, weddings, and festive gatherings. Macis Design focuses largely on first communion dresses and their Bebe Gabrielle layette collection. In Valérie of Bébé Sweeny’s words, they all design for “Those joyful moments that bring people together and call for something extra special.” At Petite Hailey, their illustrators carefully craft different patches to tailor their designs to suit different occasions. And as for Tartaleta, they believe you don’t need a special day to wear elegant designs! Their products range from classic to modern and can be worn everyday.
Angela at La Rondine says their favorite occasion to help customers shop for is baptisms, but their busiest selling season is for first communions. While these are traditionally in May, some of their customers start looking for garments in December, meaning La Rondine has to be ready from then on. At Casa Rodríguez, they are more specialized in first communion dresses and suits. Miren says their customers typically come in for these garments between January and the end of April.
Caroline from Layla’s Boutique loves dressing little ones for bridal parties and Easter. For her, there’s nothing better than seeing girls twirl in their favorite find! January through May tends to be their busiest season, though some customers start looking for occasionwear as early as October. Whenever they decide to shop, the European styles that are a staple at Layla’s are always ready to cater to their client’s needs.
When these brands are designing their collections for ceremonies and special occasions, they all focus on two key elements: beautiful design details and comfort. Elena from Tartaleta shared that “Handmade details such as smocking stitch embroidery reflect the exquisite tradition that characterizes us”. At Bébé Sweeny, it’s all about the exceptional fabrics, while Petite Hailey’s patches are part of its iconic designs. For Macis Design, it’s all about the embellishments. Karen told us that the trim, design details, and overall look sets each dress apart. “The dress is normally only worn one time, so it has to be spectacular,” she said.
In terms of comfort, Patachou’s founder Marta considers it to go hand in hand with beautiful designs. “The most important design detail is the balance between beauty and comfort. Children are active and full of energy. It’s essential that our occasionwear is not only visually stunning, but also practical and comfortable for them to wear,” she said. Emanuela from C’era una volta agrees, emphasizing that empowering children to feel comfortable and free is essential. It’s important for Milon as well, with Fernanda telling us the brand focuses on looks driven by quality and style, without sacrificing comfort.
When on buying trips to events like Playtime Paris and Playtime & Kid’s Hub New York, Angela looks for uniqueness when deciding what products to add to La Rondine. They have a wide range of customers, so she wants to find the little details that set products apart. She is always on the lookout for unique items that aren’t commonly found in her area. One thing she would like to see more of are accessories for special occasions. Fedoras, purses, hair bands, and bow ties are a few of the items she’s really looking for.
At Casa Rodríguez, Miren told us that they see a variety of customer styles as well. “Some seek simplicity in the fabrics and cuts, while others are the complete opposite, looking for flowing tulle dresses with ruffles and large flowers,” she said. So when she is at a trade show, she is looking for quality clothing that surprises her. “We’re a unique store, and depending on the time of year we sell more of one style than another,” she elaborated.
For Layla’s Boutique, Caroline often visits the designers she continues to sell strongly, while keeping an eye out for new designers to introduce her clients to. She would love to see a wider range of high quality dresses in her local US market.
Thank you to these brands and buyers for sharing their insights and inspirations with us! This closer look into the ceremonies and special occasions sector of the kid’s fashion market gave us a deeper understanding of how brands are catering to the niche’s needs, and what retailers are looking for to meet the needs of their customers.
Brands, there is still time to apply for a booth at Playtime Paris June 28-30 and Playtime & Kid’s Hub New York July 27-29.
Buyers, meet these special occasion brands and more at:
Playtime Paris: Tartaleta, C’era una volta, Patachou, Mariella Ferrari, Pom d’Api, Manuela de Juan, Kidiwi, Nicolas, Paade Mode, Bachaā, Unabel, Pèpè…
Playtime & Kid’s Hub New York: Petite Hailey, Bébé Sweeny, Milon, Macis Design, C’era una volta, Patachou, Noralee, Elephantito, Lilies & Roses, Kidiwi, Paade Mode, Early Sunday, Isaac Mizrahi, Ooh! La, La! Couture, Princess Daliana, Macis Design, Janie and Jack, Bows Arts, Ce Ce Co, Little Miss Zoe, Super Smalls…
