Apparel Online India Magazine May 1st Issue 2018 | Page 36

FASHION BUSINESS
KIDSWEAR’S AXIS POINT
TO A TREND-LED
PROGRESSION
The fashion scene for the young shoppers has
been on a constant roll for over a decade.
What is behind the wheel of this unstoppable
rise? How will the market sustain this rate
of growth?
GUCCI Children’s Campaign for S/S ’18
I
n Euromonitor International’s
New Apparel and Footwear
Research Category Overview
2017, it was mentioned that owing
to the rise of the middle-class
in emerging markets and the
phasing out of China’s ‘one-child
policy’ in 2016 – the per capita
expenditure on children’s clothing
has skyrocketed. The report further
mentioned that the category’s growth
is charting a transition from ‘soft
dressing to trend-led products, as
fashion plays a bigger role in the
buying process, and the frequency
at which clothing is purchased
continues to rise’.
All of this bodes exceptional good
news for the Indian export market,
which has always enjoyed a strong
foothold in this segment. Moreover,
thanks to everyone joining social
media and having access to the
internet from an early age, the kid
fashion shopper is now more aware
of trends than ever. The segment
has its own influencers on with
followers counting in the double digit
thousands.
In the high-street market, which
is dominated by kid’s lines from
Uniqlo, H&M, Nike etc. the retailers
are churning out copycat versions
of styles worn by adults, effectually
homogenising the trend landscape.
At the other end of the spectrum
are heft price tag luxury brands like
Gucci, Dolce and Gabbana, Stella
McCartney for which shoppers
are mostly people with small, late
settled families, owing to which the
aspirational value of fashion clothing
is very great.
BLOGGER MOMS
HELPING KIDSWEAR
EXPLOSION
Adding to all of this growth, is the
recent ‘mommy blogger’ boom. All
36 Apparel Online India | MAY 1-15, 2018 | www.apparelresources.com
Most comfortable
grown-up trends like
architectural ruffles,
straight fit trousers,
statement sleeves,
or mini-me blazers
work for the kiddie
market. But an
analysis of several
influencer infants’
Instagram posts
reveal that image-
conscious mums
are not scared of
daring trends like
hardware, faux
leather and daytime
sequins either.
of fashion’s biggest, most successful
bloggers including Chiara Ferragani
of The Blonde Salad, Leandra Medine
of Man Repeller, Korean-American
influencer Chriselle Lim, Arielle
Charnas of Something Navy, have
delivered their offsprings within the
last few months.
These first-time mothers do not fit
into the typical mould of motherhood
and form an important niche for
brands, retailers and manufacturers
to design and target a market of
women and kid shoppers who would
otherwise be misrepresented in the
earlier set-up. For example, Kylie
Jenner, who has 107 million followers
on Instagram, recently posted a
picture with her daughter, both
sporting the new Fendi monogram,
hitting two targets with one arrow.
Influencers and influential moms are
both the ones to watch to understand
the future forecast of kid’s fashion.