This article was originally featured in Atelier Magazine. 

If you are a fashion-conscious parent, there are ways to make your child look as fashionable as you are. High-end fashion labels have their own unique spinoffs for kids. And as Arathi Menon finds out, well-heeled parents are spoilt for choice.

Gaga goes Goo Goo. The most bizarre fashionista is all set to create her miniatures soon. Of course, we are referring to her spoof video at the recently concluded Jimmy Kimmel episode to promote her latest album "Born This Way." In a hilarious attempt at self-mockery, she paraded models (all cute little kids) wearing miniature versions of her most outlandish designs. But think about the stress it could put on fashion critics if Lady Gaga realizes the business potential behind creating a clothing line for kids and lay her hands on it! If you have your fingers placed firmly on the fashion pulse, you too would realize that in these fleeting times, fashion labels for kids rake in more moolah than those for adults.  

A decade ago, a floral pink dress with tiny knots at the back, unruly locks tucked neatly behind the ears with matching butterfly clips was just about how a baby girl of most fashion-conscious mothers dressed like. Well, if she were to be wheeled around in a pram, with a baby-pink bib around her neck and a soother to suck on, she was presumed to be of a wealthy gene. Cut to 2011. Fashionable parents no longer think all pink for girls or basic blues for boys. Instead, multiple-figure price tags and cutting-edge designs dominate back-to-school basics.

Namita Verma is one such parent who wants to see her two kids – aged eight and four – dressed well, all the time. “They are not always in designer clothes. But I stock Burberry and Gap for occasions that demand it. I want them to look as nice as we do,” says Namita. The fact that this UAE-based couple has a very active social life is reason enough to splurge on kids’ designer clothes.

With children’s fashion blooming, luxury brands are wasting no time in offering the most amazing clothing items and accessories to the new target market. Namita points out that she prefers high-end labels to regular brands because it is easy to find miniature versions of the parents’ clothing in designer labels whereas “regular brands have kiddy stuff in typical pinks and blues.” When parents look for pint-sized interpretation of their own fashion aesthetics on their children, where else could they turn to than high-end brands that play to the gallery?

Though almost all top brands – from Gucci to Dior and Fendi – have their own versions of toddler fashion, it is the UK brand Burberry that has so far kept the momentum going. With Tom Cruise and Katy Holmes’ photogenic offspring Suri Cruise to be the walking, talking advertisement for the brand, Burberry is showing no signs of slowing down. Further, brands are pulling out all stops to market the designs and the latest add-ons are runway shows with child models.

Seeing the marketing potential that star kids hold (after, of course, Burberry tapped it, albeit by chance), Gucci roped in Jennifer Lopez and her twin delights – Max and Emme – to do a family show for the launch of Gucci’s baby line for two-to-eight-year-olds recently. The collection – which comprises everything from clothes, shoes and handbags to jewellery and sunglasses – bears the trademark Gucci stamps, complete with the iconic horsebit, the double-G monogram, et al. Talking about the latest collection at the launch, creative director of the brand Frida Giannini said, “I used luxurious materials but also tookgreat care to make every piece child-friendly. There obviously needs to be an emphasis on comfort because children want to move and play as they wish.” She thus brought home the point that the creators have actually thought of children’s needs, and not just catered to parents who see their children as extensions of themselves.

However, Burberry and its trademark plaid continue to be a fashion favourite with moms of infants and toddlers. The craze for Burberry among parents is not completely unfounded. Suri Cruise is just an inspiration. The bigger reason lies in a compulsion to keep up with trends. Call it fast fashion if you will. The novelty that the brand holds – think of so many adorable designs that alter with every passing season – picking a Burberry for your tiny-tot almost becomes a compulsion for young mothers. Add to it the reality that the little dumpling will grow out of it before the novelty wears off, and you have enough excuses to shop for new clothes.

However, brand loyalty solely rests on the children who grow up assimilating new things. Sample Delhi-based socialite Guneeta Dhingra who bought only Burberry for her kids when they were toddlers. But their fashion choices veered away when they grew up. “My teenage daughter loves her Juicys while son is an Abercrombie loyalist,” she says, adding her daughter “would want a Bebe for formal dos while son could, though occasionally, be spotted in a Gucci tux.”

In the past year, both Gucci and Stella McCartney have joined the likes of Dior, Burberry, Marc Jacobs, Prada, Paul Smith, Cacherel and more by introducing children’s lines. McCartney, the torchbearer of ethical fashion, extends her design aesthetics to kids’ wear as well. John Galliano’s kids’ line, one of seventeen ranges in his repertoire, captures the essence of his colourful personality. Jean Paul Gaultier too launched his clothing line for infants this year. It consists of a mixture of items, including socks and sailor caps, all in the designer’s signature sailor style. The buzz is that, come December, Donatella Versace will give a facelift to the nursery landscape with Young Versace, the Italian brand’s take on kids’ fashion.

But what left the fashion critics truly gasping was Lanvin’s decision to venture into the market. They tut tut-ed Lanvin’s attempt at super-luxury clothing for kids, thus initiating a debate on the ethicality behind a five-figure tag on a five-year-old’s dress. They debated that for one thing, the kids would outgrow them in no time and as long as they could wear it, they were too young to appreciate the quality of the gentle fabric.

Despite various splurges on Chloe, D&G and Burberry for her four-year-old daughter,  Singapore resident Ritu Kapoor admits it may not be the wisest decision to invest on high-end labels for kids. Guneeta agrees. “It’s completely impractical to manage expensive outfits for kids. It’s a different matter if they are teenagers,” she says. But would this stop doting mothers from toeing the trendy line? Well, we don’t think so...