Voices
Learn all aboutMilK Magazine
One of our dear partners for many seasons, MilK Magazine is a leading resource in the kids’ fashion and lifestyle industry. From their beautiful editorials to their articles discussing the latest society news through surveys, expert interviews, and guides, they are one of the top family magazines in the world. We can’t wait to see who they will present their awards to this season at Playtime Paris, so to tide us over until January 2023 we asked their Fashion Editor in Chief, Mélanie Hoepffner, to tell us more about MilK Magazine and MilK Kid’s Collections. Without further ado, let’s learn all about this key reference for the children’s market.
Born nearly 20 years ago, MilK Magazine was originally dedicated to children’s fashion. It has since evolved to speak about the family universe as a whole, covering everything from fashion to travel, decor to societal changes in the modern family. MilK Magazine speaks to families that are in search of travel ideas, that want to explore new brands to decorate their homes with, that want new ideas for family activities, that are seeking inspiration.
Mélanie Hoepffner started at MilK Magazine as an intern, and now, 20 years and two kids later, she is the Fashion Editor in Chief for this inspirational publication that she never gets tired of. She has noticed that fashion has changed a lot over those 20 years, a shift she can see in the types of brands MilK Magazine seeks to work with. MilK originally worked more with luxury brands like Baby Dior, Dolce & Gabbana or Ralph Lauren kids, whereas today they largely work with designer brands that are focused on their environmental impact and sustainability.
While MilK Magazine is a quarterly publication targeted to contemporary families with subjects like society and tourism, the MilK team created MilK Kid’s Collections about ten years ago in response to the demands of professionals. Before, this type of support didn’t exist in the kid’s fashion industry. Following the example of Vogue Runway, MilK Kid’s Collection comes out twice a year to reach professionals at the key moment for Autumn-Winter and Spring-Summer.
MilK Kid’s Collections is made for professionals in the kid’s fashion industry. It’s an incomparable reference that gathers the collections of more than one hundred brands six months before the season in which they’ll be sold to consumers. In it, one can find the trends for the upcoming season, interviews with professionals, and other insightful industry news.
Milk Magazine has been one of Playtime’s partners for many years. When we asked Mélanie what encouraged MilK to team up with us, she replied:
Mélanie says the MilK Magazine team is always excited to come to the show to discover the new collections of the season, especially those of The Campamento and The New Society, two very talented Spanish brands, and Bebe Organic. They also love following the evolution of brands, for example, that of Arsène et les pipelettes who they found has really grown over the past few seasons. MilK Magazine loves exploring the NEW NOW and SINGULAR spaces as well, having discovered the brands The New Society and Cèucle there at past editions.
Given this mutually inspiring partnership, it is only natural that six years ago, MilK Magazine started presenting their MilK Awards at Playtime Paris. Each season, their team walks the show in search of the most beautiful collection, THE new brand that catches their attention and they fall in love with. Just as fashion has changed, these awards have evolved over the years to meet the interests prevalent in the market. They began with the categories « Shoes, » « Must-have, » « Design, » and « Fashion. » While the « Fashion » category remained, the awards then shifted to include a prize for « Green » brands that have exceptionally eco-conscious practices, « Lifestyle » for products in this sector, and « Crush » for the brand that they fell in love at first sight with. For the next winter edition of Playtime Paris, the awards have changed a bit again: there will only be two prizes given for the categories of « Crush » and « Le Grand Prix, » making the MilK Awards even more special.
Before leaving us, Mélanie revealed the trends that will be found very soon in the next MilK Kid’s Collection for Spring-Summer 2023. Based on the collections MilK has seen so far in preparing this upcoming edition, the SS23 trends will bring the fresh colors of the Mediterranean to the forefront, with Sienna and Azure blue taking the main stage. A lot of pastels will, of course, decorate the SS23 collections as well, with a touch of mauve that is sure to please fans of 80’s fashion.
Thank you to Mélanie for her time and kind words, we really enjoyed learning more about MilK, and we can’t wait to see what brands will receive the MilK Awards at the next edition of Playtime Paris. Meet the winners from last season in our article here, and make sure to get your pass to discover the winners in real time at the show in January 2023. Brands, don’t forget to apply for a booth for the chance to be selected!
