Fendi diaper bags, Dior feeding bottles, Simonetta floral bands or maybe an Aston Martin silver cross baby stroller that you can push your little one in. Kids today can give you tough competition at any social do. Gone are the days when you picked up a cute pink hairband from the shop nearby and matched it with your kid’s outfit, and the latter would wear it without resentment! Shoes, clothes, hairbands and funky accessories — kids fashion is no longer child’s play!
Celebrity kids typify this philosophy the best. Take the case of Suri Cruise, daughter of former celebrity couple Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, who is tagged as the most stylish celebrity child. Dressed in the most expensive and snazzy outfits, shoes and accessories, she never fails to catch the paparazzi’s eye. Suri, already a young style icon at seven, regularly carries a $950 Ferragamo handbag or puts on a $30 Chanel lipgloss. From Romeo Beckham, the 10-year-old son of David and Victoria Beckham, who was signed by Burberry for its spring/summer 2013 ad campaign to Emme Anthony, daughter of Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, who toted a $2,100 Chanel purse to a Paris fashion show, celebrity kids have given a whole new direction to luxury.
Indians, too, are warming up to the idea of matching the accessories of their kids with their clothes. Kids are now emerging as the new, aware and independent buyers who prefer shopping for themselves rather than relying on their parent’s choices. “The Indian kids’ luxury wear market is currently pegged at Rs 38,000 crore and is expected to touch Rs 80,000 crore by 2015,” says Swati Saraf, president, Prive Luxury Ltd, and the owner of Les Petits, India’s luxury wear multi-brand boutique for kids. “It’s a refreshing change to see that people are not just going for the brand tag. They are equally conscious about the quality and exclusivity of the product and are willing to pay a befitting price for the same,” she adds.
Young well-off mothers, ‘alpha moms’ and clubbing and partying mommies are very selective about not just what they are wearing but even what their infants use. “They are willing to spend anywhere between Rs 10,000 and Rs 80,000. Accessories from brands like Fendi Kids, Baby Dior, Miss Blumarine, Simonetta, I Pinco Pallino and furniture from Theophile are aggressively making their presence felt in Indian markets. Exclusive range of kids accessories priced between Rs 75,000 and Rs 80,000 are surprisingly doing well with customers,” she adds.
For parents, it is a reflection of their own personality, which they want to extend to the offspring. “There is a desire to vicariously live through their children and that desire is running strong in the younger generation,” says a lawyer, a legal consultant for a luxury kids wear store, Sumedha Sharma Bahuguna.
Highly-coveted among the customers are the accessories with prominent logos. “Fendi, Versace and Baby Dior logos are noticeable from a distance. So Fendi pamper bags (Rs 75,000 onwards) and Dior baby wraps (Rs 10,000 onwards) are massive hits with fashion-conscious young mommies,” shares Sumedha.
Indulgence has got a whole new meaning.
“Undoubtedly, the world of kids is not small anymore. When we go to a party, my daughter Yashika takes hours to select a well-fitted dress and ensures that she has matched her accessories as well. Kids today are privy to some of the most renowned luxe labels and perhaps will become aware of the latest fashion trends sooner than you and I would!” shares young mom Shivani Bansal, who believes that when parents can be spendthrifts, then why not the kids?
