In our new series of articles, Brand Success Stories, meet brands from our community. Learn how they started, how their stories have become intertwined with Playtime, and get inspired to keep pursuing your own dreams via their success stories. Playtime is honored to be part of the journey and accompany brands as they grow, so let us share the story of The Sunday Collective with you.

Started in 2021 by two parents looking to bring their childhood memories to life and fill a space in the kid’s market, The Sunday Collective has been on a journey to become one of the most recognized labels in the children’s fashion industry. Playtime has been honored to have this brand in our community and to be part of their adventure.

Starting out as visitors to our Paris show, they’ve become a highly anticipated exhibitor both in person and on our B2B ordering platform, Orderwizz. To share their story and inspire other brands, let’s go down memory lane with The Sunday Collective. From starting their brand and exhibiting in the New Now space at Playtime Paris all the way to today, where they have an incredible back to school pop up in one of the most coveted Parisian retailers, Galeries Lafayette, discover The Sunday Collective’s journey so far in this brand deep dive.

Let’s start at the very beginning…

The Sunday Collective: AW23-24, “Build Your World”

Coming from a family business in garment manufacturing, founders Chloe and Jae sought to create something of their own. With a creative mind and keen visual eye, Chloe loved taking pictures of their son, daughter, and kids of family and friends. She and Jae found themselves missing something in the kid’s fashion market when dressing their kids. There were many options in the U.S. kid’s market, but often cheaply made and using more bright colors and prints than they liked. Chloe and Jae wanted clothes for their kids that they themselves would like to wear. Their kids felt the same way, seeking something that resembled the fashion their parents would be in. When unable to find items that matched this aesthetic, Chloe and Jae decided to create it themselves. And so, the initial idea for The Sunday Collective was born.

When she was young, Chloe’s parents spent six days a week working. This made Sundays special, as they were the moment for family time and creating memories. Drawing on these memories of her own childhood for inspiration, Chloe and Jae decided the perfect name for their future label was The Sunday Collective. Evoking the warm feelings of these nostalgic moments, they wanted their brand to inspire families to create memories together. Though it would be kid’s fashion, they wanted it to be for the whole family in terms of aesthetics and values.

Built around the core values of timeless design and quality products, The Sunday Collective has been centered around sustainability from the start. They find that these are some of the most important ways to be truly sustainable. Timeless designs mean we are not in constant search of something new, but still feel in style. Quality gives clothes the capability to endure the tests of time. Chloe and Jae wanted to teach their children that the more you wear a garment, the more sustainable you are. They wanted to expand this lesson to kids around the world through their brand. Their collections would be designed to remain stylish regardless of trends, made in quality materials that will ensure they last for generations. As parents themselves, they realize that one of the best ways for families to practice sustainability and teach these ideas to their children is buying garments with these values.

Timeless, quality products have been the founding values of The Sunday Collective, and remain core components to their brand DNA.

After establishing this base, Chloe and Jae went on a family trip to Paris in the summer of 2019. Meeting a friend there who has a baby product line, Chloe and Jae began bouncing ideas off them for the brand they were envisioning. As they described the idea for The Sunday Collective, their friend said they absolutely had to visit Playtime Paris. She said it was an amazing show, and that she believed their future brand would fit in perfectly.

So, Chloe and Jae gathered their two children, and with their friend and her three kids visited Playtime Paris for the first time. Fascinated by the overall aesthetic of the show, they could imagine their future brand among the inspiring booths. Alive with creativity and full of inspiration as they walked the aisles of beautifully presented kids’ fashion and lifestyle collections, they knew it was a show they wanted to exhibit at.

The Sunday Collective: AW23-24, “Build Your World”

From The Sunday Collective’s very first collection to their latest for SS24, Chloe has been the brand’s Creative Director. Working with an expert design team, she taps into nostalgic moments from her childhood to find inspiration. As a way to share her childhood memories with her own kids, each collection is centered around a different theme. An exploration each season of past ways to play free of screen time, The Sunday Collective is an invitation for children to play with things other than technology. From family vacations and playing outdoors to the pleasure of receiving handwritten mail from friends, each season takes us into a core memory filled with love, connection, and beauty.

In January of 2021, The Sunday Collective was ready to make its debut in the kid’s industry! For their first step into the wholesale market, Chloe and Jae sought Playtime. Having never exhibited at a show before, they weren’t really sure how to present themselves in the curated sea of brands. When just starting out, resources are often limited, making it intimidating for new brands to present at a trade show. Brands have to prepare their samples, decide on furniture, how to decorate their booth, and other logistical matters. This can make the whole process quite difficult and stressful. To ease their minds for this first experience, Chloe and Jae decided to apply for the New Now space at Playtime Paris.

TSC in the New Now space at Playtime Paris, Winter 2022

New Now is an area of the show uniquely dedicated to brands exhibiting at Playtime Paris for the first time. In past seasons, an industry expert has selected 12 exhibitors to be featured. A top destination for professional visitors at the show, it puts new brands in the spotlight.

Chloe and Jae found this space to be the perfect way to start exhibiting at trade shows, as all the furniture and fixtures are provided. Giving them the chance to exhibit in an area of the show dedicated to newness, they enjoyed being with other labels exhibiting for the first time. Through this space, they were able to build connections, meet the right people, and begin gathering information on wholesale business. The New Now space enabled them to step right into the Playtime universe. Removing the stress of organizing a whole booth, the New Now space allowed them to focus on presenting their debut collection to buyers and professionals in the kid’s industry. After this experience, they decided they wanted to invest more in exhibiting at trade shows, especially with Playtime.

After this first experience at Playtime Paris, Chloe and Jae visited other trade shows in America. None were the same as Playtime.

They got many comments their collection fit well within the European market at the Paris show. But, given that they created The Sunday Collective in response to their own feelings that the American market lacked what their brand offers, they wanted to try showing America. They felt that their was a customer base for them in both Europe and the United States. After their positive experience in Paris, they decided to try out Playtime & Kid’s Hub New York. Since their first time exhibiting in New York, The Sunday Collective has become a staple brand at both shows. They have continued to exhibit in Paris and New York because they find both are beneficial to their brand. In Paris, Chloe and Jae are able to meet buyers from Asia and Europe. New York offers them the opportunity to meet with local buyers and friends.

Another tool that The Sunday Collective has tapped into to expand their wholesale experience is Orderwizz. Before joining the platform, they didn’t have an efficient process for connecting with wholesale accounts and placing orders. After having been satisfied with their trade show experiences, they contacted Playtime to see how to connect with buyers worldwide all year. The Playtime team replied “Orderwizz”! Curated and run by the same experts behind the trade shows, Orderwizz is the kid’s industry’s most powerful CRM tool and B2B ordering platform. Through it, Chloe and Jae have been able to reach people from Asia, Europe, and the entire United States. This has helped them build their contact list and brand visibility. They found that Playtime’s contacts and expertise set Orderwizz apart from other B2B marketplaces. They find the platform offers brands visibility while giving buyers an efficient way to discover new collections.

The Sunday Collective is a brand that is constantly seeking ways to do and be more. To take their business and core values to the next level, The Sunday Collective expanded into an even more sustainable collection that debuted at Playtime Paris in Winter 2023. The TSC Naturals collection began from the question “How can we do better”? Chloe and Jae wanted to expand their brand to offer not only fashion items, but also easy to wear pieces. They wanted to offer comfortable garments for children that want to wear hoodies and sweatpants. With the decision to do this, they wanted to expand in the most sustainable way possible. They wanted to find an innovative way to produce these products that would bring something new to the market. The use of organic cotton for this collection was a no brainer, but they wanted to use natural dyes, too.

TSC Naturals collection

They identified two challenges when it came to natural dyeing. It is often very expensive, and many dyeing facilities use chemicals to reduce cost and improve color fastness. Believing there had to be a better way, they began researching by talking with farmers and furniture makers in Portugal. Even if they couldn’t find a solution for using less water, they wanted to guarantee the water could flow harmlessly back into nature. Following their conversations with expert famers and artisans, they began sourcing their natural materials like beechwood and onions from them. Extracting the colors from these sources and indigo, they’ve been able to produce a four color collection free of chemicals. The garment’s natural fade outs and variations add uniqueness to each piece. Chloe and Jae are extremely proud of this collection. They are happy to clothe their own kids and others in garments that are naturally made and dyed.

From starting their own brand to expanding their selection into the TSC Naturals with beautiful, sustainable basics, The Sunday Collective has been standing out in the kid’s fashion industry. And it’s not just us that think so. At the Summer 2022 edition of Playtime Paris, The Sunday Collective met the Galeries Lafayette team at their booth. This initial meeting gave them the chance to present the brand, its values, and establish a relationship with the esteemed retailer. This relationship continued, blossoming into an incredible opportunity for a pop up for the back to school season in 2023. A dream come true, The Sunday Collective will be featured on the 5th floor of Galeries Lafayette’s Haussmann location in Paris until October 17th.

The display draws inspiration from their current Autumn-Winter 23-24 collection “Build Your World,” as well as the brand’s overall identity. Using a monochromatic yellow from their original brand logo, the display evokes the joy of youth and brightness of life. Paper and cardboard have been transformed into pinwheels and paper boats, bringing the inspiration behind the collection to life. Sparked from the memory of creating fortresses out of whatever she could find around the house as a child, from pillows and blankets to umbrella tents, Chloe designed “Build Your World” to inspire kids to use their imagination and creativity for their own universe. After seeing her kids doing the same thing she had as a child, sitting under tables and cultivating a world all their own, Chloe was inspired to design this timeless collection.

The Sunday Collective: Debut Collection SS21

As a brand that has grown so much since its beginning, The Sunday Collective is an inspiration. Their current experience with Galeries Lafayette has given them the confidence to believe in themselves and keep going forward. It has reassured them that as small business owners, they can make their dreams come true. They also want to continue creating their brand with the values they believe in. Over the next few years, they want to keep improving The Sunday Collective. Chloe and Jae want to take initiatives like the TSC Naturals collection even further. They’re considering expanding into new sectors like sportswear, too. Seeking to continue being at the forefront of innovation in how we clothe our children, they want to keep educating kids and parents on how to value and love the Earth while still being fashionable and having fun with the clothes they wear.

Conscious of the fact that they have an incredible team supporting and helping them, Chloe and Jae are incredibly proud of The Sunday Collective team and the journey they are on. They pride themselves on matching their company culture to their brand identity. It’s important for them to practice what they preach in all aspects of their business. From the materials that they use to how they treat their team members. Chloe and Jae see success as not only that of their brand, but of all those connected to it on this collaborative journey. As all of us know, no brand or retailer can succeed in a vacuum.

The success of everyone is dependent on lifting others up at the same time.

Success for The Sunday Collective is success for Playtime and Orderwizz too, and vice versa. Success for The Sunday Collective also means success for their partners in Europe and Peru. It gives them the opportunity to offer more job opportunities, as well as better sourcing and manufacturing processes.

AW23-24, “Build Your World”

The Sunday Collective is the perfect example of a brand success story, and we are far from the final chapter. Playtime and Orderwizz are so proud to have incredible brands like this one as part of our community, and are grateful to Chloe, Jae, and the entire Sunday Collective team that helped collaborate on this article. We hope you have found it as much a source of inspiration and positivity as we have!

Be sure to check out their virtual showroom on Orderwizz here to place pre-orders or restock with their incredible collections. Brands can also fill out their applications to exhibit in Paris and New York with The Sunday Collective this winter. If you’re interested in exhibiting in the New Now space, please reach out to our Sales team.

All images from The Sunday Collective