Fashion, style for kids is a big business

January 2007

FASHION AND
STYLE FOR KIDS
Nowadays It's
A Big Business
By Leah Jaysanker

Fashion and style for kids is a booming industry. Nowadays specialized salons dedicated entirely to cutting hair exist along with styling products solely for children. High-end gear like Gymboree’s Janie and Jack line and Dior Kids adorn tiny limbs, and even the iconic Barbie doll has her own perfume for girls. How has society changed that parents clamor to dress their toddlers in designer duds and find them subscribing to Cookie Magazine? Meetings with authorities in the industry illustrate this phenomenon.

Dating back to the mid-seventies, Gymboree Play & Music began as developmental play, music and art classes for parents and children. What started as an avenue for learning later (1986) blossomed into a brand of kids clothing. Gymboree’s President, Kip Garcia, educates us on this recent transformation.

“About a decade ago many things in children’s fashion changed due to information and technology; the internet, television and print became more involved. Kids are now more demanding on what they expect from retailers and parents are more demanding with how they dress their kids.” The concept of the soccer mom has drastically altered according to Garcia. “Mom’s these days are ‘hot moms’—the same moms involved in their children’s activities who are also focused on themselves, looking terrific and chic, staying in shape, all which is reflecting onto their kids.” Garcia adds, “These mom’s are savvy about their fashion and so are their kids.”

How does Gymboree remain kidlike? Garcia explains, “Kids are still going to be kids, parents do not want them to be dressed trashy, they want age-appropriate clothing–and that is what Gymboree is about, cutting-edge fashion interpreted in a way that is age-appropriate for kids.” Gymboree is the middle tier line of clothes and Janie and Jack focuses on, “Precious young children, a niche in the market comparable to Neiman Marcus with five fabrics of fashion, presented in a boutique-like shopping experience,” mentions Garcia. So who are the children that wear this upscale line? Garcia notes, “Janie and Jack appeals to a mom whose very involved, she’s a fashionista that knows fine fabrics and the difference between a fine silk and a blend, and appreciates the hand detailing we put into our product.”

When it comes to styling your offspring, there is more than just clothing. To be stylish involves the right hairdo and proper grooming. You cannot be a well-dressed kid unless you have the entire ensemble and owner/creator of Cozy’s Cuts for Kids, Cozy Friedman, knows a thing or two about this.

“Things are so different from when I was growing up. A dozen years ago, I was at the cusp of when things began changing for children. Now there are many more options and I think it is a reflection of parents’ attitudes on how they want to spend money.” Friedman explains that kids are an extension of their parents—“a stylish parent wants a stylish child and they do not mind paying for high quality products.”

Friedman began her shop 12 years ago when children’s salons were obsolete. She felt a need in the market for a place where moms and dads could obtain a quality haircut in a kid-friendly environment. To compliment cutting hair Friedman felt a demand for products. “As we did not have anything to use that was gentle to address the needs of children we spent two years developing So Cozy formulas with lots of vitamins and minerals, like tear-free shampoos and styling gels and creams.” Friedman believes the transformation with kids now is similar to that of the metrosexual male, “We are going through a metro-mini phenomenon with kids.”

So Cozy’s special appeal is their unique youth-friendly packaging combined with Cozy’s Cuts for Kids, which is a half toy store half salon. Freidman states, “Kids can select from a DVD or video game to watch as they get their hair cut, we make the experience friendly and fun—it is very important to make grooming positive for children.” Friedman’s success is due in part to delivering what parent’s want—like a product to get rid of bed head and one to detangle hair. The next best thing for Freidman, “It’s our newest product, Boo, that’ll address the problem of head lice, by scarring it away naturally.”

Spa and Grooming
Bobbi Brown, Mustela, Burt’s Bee and several other companies cater to grooming the baby consumer. PROPOLINE for Babies, is the latest product to hit the United States that contains hypoallergenic all-natural ingredients. Of course, a child is not in vogue unless they have their own perfume, and from the creators of Barbie, the beautiful blond doll, comes Barbie perfume.

Today parents are no longer the trendsetters of the household—it’s their teens, toddlers and babies who now call attention to their style. The days of using a terry cloth bib to block food from covering your child are long gone—now it’s a Hermès embroidered linen bib with matching placemat ($160).