How Luxury Brands Are Redefining Kids’ Fashion

To fashion brands, kids’ fashion was once an afterthought, coming second to the behemoth market that is mens’ and womens’ fashion. Now, it’s a booming, multi billion dollar industry that is only getting bigger. As a result, the market has grabbed the attention of luxury fashion brands. 

In fact, just about every name in luxury fashion offer products in smaller sizes. Gucci, Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton, the list goes on when it comes to designer brands competing in the world of kids’ fashion.

The factors that drive parents to purchase vary, and will be explored throughout this article. From those who seek premium quality to those who simply want exclusivity for their children, we’ll explore the ways in which luxury fashion brands are redefining kids’ fashion.

Status Symbol

When it comes to luxury fashion, garments serve a far deeper purpose than just keeping us clothed. To many, there’s a status symbol, signifying certain levels of wealth. When it comes to luxury fashion for kids, parents are seeing it as an opportunity to make their kid stand out and possibly reflect their family’s social standing. 

Focus On Quality

Children go through clothes quickly as they grow. So it’s understandable that parents didn’t want to invest large amounts and brands didn’t want to commit to costly initiatives. Luxury brands have helped to move the needle, bringing a sense of quality to the industry which has helped raise standards across the whole of children’s fashion. 

Increased Ethics and Sustainability

The idea that kids’ clothing doesn’t last long is no longer justification for buying cheap clothes that are bad for the environment. Luxury brands have helped to raise the profile of kids’ clothing which has subsequently brought increased sustainability and better ethics to the space as a whole.

Increased Range of Products

As already discussed, kids’ clothing used to simply mirror adult fashion. Product ranges would be identical but created in smaller sizes. Now, it has become its own market with its own trends and styles where products are created with children in mind.

As a result, parents are blessed with many more options with designer brands offering everything from children’s coats to nursery room accessories. 

Criticisms of Luxury Brands’ Kids’ Ranges

While luxury brands have elevated kids fashion in a number of ways, there are some criticisms. Most notably, people may point to the fact that these clothes are being purchased by the parents who are motivated by how it reflects on them more than their children.

There’s also the issue of price. Louis Vuitton’s baby clothes will cost hundreds of pounds and, as we have mentioned, garments for children don’t last longer than a few months before they disregarded. This obviously raises the issue of sustainability too, should we be spending vast amounts of money on items that are only going to be used for a couple of months?

Final Thoughts

The fashion industry has undergone a drastic transformation in recent years. But no segment has changed as much as kids’ fashion which as discussed has gone from afterthought to a booming market. 

Perfectly highlighting this boom is the decision for luxury brands to enter the market, using their already established name to dominate another area of the market. Some may criticise those who choose to purchase such products, suggesting that the main motivation is status. On the other hand, it has brought an increased focus on quality, ethics and sustainability to childrends’ clothing which is good to see.

Going forward, we may start to see more brands specialising in the children and baby markets rather than brands simply moving their existing products into baby ranges.