Kids Are The Future Consumer

Ivan, aka Lil Kid, son of the designer Natasha Zinko, who made his street style debut at Paris Fashion Week earlier this year. His profile reads 'Yep, I'm a kid', but his street style game is as on point as other streetwear aficionados’ decades his senior: Ivan is regularly snapped wearing limited-edition clothing from the likes of Supreme, Raf Simons and Vetements. Dedicated to 'all the sneakerhead parents in the world', Park's book teaches toddlers their ABCs via sneaker graphics: A is for Airmax, G is for Gucci, Y is for Yeezy. Source: Rex

The book emphasizes a shift in perception: childrenswear is now cool. The market is currently worth $1.4 billion, according to Euromonitor, and the value of childrenswear in the US is estimated to grow 8 percent by 2021, to $34 million. Luxury brands from Oscar de la Renta to Dolce & Gabbana have long produced childrenswear, but the category is booming with launches from labels like Givenchy, Yeezy and Balenciaga, giving it an extra level of street cred. Givenchy Kids - which launches for Autumn/Winter 2017 - will drop twice yearly, with around 130 pieces each season. Balenciaga's childrenswear line debuted at its Spring/Summer 2018 menswear show. Childrenswear at Selfridges is currently trading up 20 percent on 2016, with the best-selling products coming from Bape and Boy London. Farfetch has increased its childrenswear category to 184 brands, up from 40 last year, while the French childrenswear site Melijoe - for which key markets are currently US and Russia - has experienced a triple-digit sales boom for its Gucci product. Gucci's 'fake Gucci' t-shirt for kids sold out at Selfridges within five days: the tee retails at £85 - the adult version sells for £285. Gucci is capitalizing on the mini-me trend: its childrenswear line closely follows the ready-to-wear collections and even has its own advertising campaign. Kid swear is not a new concept; Dolce & Gabbana has offered childrenswear since 2012. Today's kids wear sneakers, caps and hoodies, fueled by the rise of streetwear brands. The appetite for sharing such content on social media is enormous: stylish kids are the ultimate statement accessory.

"Young parents with kids don't want to sacrifice their own aesthetic choices for the sake of dressing their children," says Moschino creative director Jeremy Scott.

"If I buy a Gucci shirt for myself, I might want to buy one for my kid as well... I wish my parents dressed me the way I dress my kid."

Arguably, Northwest has done much to boost interest in the childrenswear sphere. Such was the hype around the four-year-old's wardrobe that Kardashian - and Kanye West - launched Kids Supply in May this year. The Kids Supply's Instagram feed is full of kiddie street style stars.The childrenswear posts on the Hypebeast account were garnering the most interaction with its readers, thus Hypekids was born as a platform for parents who wanted to dress their kids in clothes that were "Outside the box and more unique than traditional childrenswear," says Su. "Everyone from Gucci, to Marni, to Balenciaga reached out to us wanting to have their kids collections on the site," says Su. Today's kids will grow up to be tomorrow's consumers.

"You don't want to lose who you are just because you have a child," says Su. "We use our kids as an outlet to express our own creativity and as a reflection of ourselves. My son's teacher never says he's the smartest kid, but she will always say he's the most stylish. I'm sort-of proud that he's the coolest kid." Complex's Park agrees.

"I'm in my 30s and my friends are getting married and having kids. Sneaker culture started in the late '70s and early '80s - we lived through the time when the first Jordan or Shelltoe came out. We stood in line and purchased it. Now, I see those people becoming parents and passing the culture down to their children. Today's kids will grow up to be tomorrow's consumers " he says.

Citation:

Bobb, B. (2017, March 4). This street style star's son is having a major moment at Paris Fashion week. Vogue. Retrieved October 26, 2021, from https://www.vogue.com/article/fashion-runway-paris-fashion-week-2017-street-style-natasha-zinko.

Cook, G. (2017, October 14). How millennial culture is driving the luxury kidswear market. The Business of Fashion. Retrieved October 26, 2021, from https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/how-kiddie-street-style-stars-are-driving-the-childrenswear-market.