Come festival time and it’s time for new clothes, especially for young people. Gone are the days when mothers simply bought the material and stitched simple A-line, frilled or pleated dresses themselves or else got them stitched by the family tailor with a few special ‘party’ dresses bought from shops for special occasions.  But all this belongs to the past and designer clothes especially made for kids, some of them exorbitantly priced, are the order of the day.

Two major factors have contributed largely to the growth of the designer market for kids. The first is the emergence of children as independent buyers and the second is their obvious preference for brands. This shift could be because of the rise in the income of the parents, their awareness of the world of fashions as flashed by the mass media, especially TV, and also peer pressure.

Today’s children are far more informed and aware of the latest trends in clothes compared their counterparts of yore. As a result, children’s apparel (clothing for kids between 1 and 14 years of age) is a market that is rapidly growing today. According to one of the sources, the market for kids' apparel in India exceeds Rs 13,000 crore, of which around Rs 3,000 crore belong to branded kids' wear. Growing at the rate of 10 per cent per annum, it is now one of the fastest growing markets.

 Some of the leading global brands in children’s clothes today include Armani Junior, Burberry Kids, DKNY Kids, D&G Kids, Baby Dior, and many more. To quote Tina Barry of The Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, “The word that sums up children’s fashion today is ease. More than ever before, clothing is about effortless pairing—forget trying to match colour-to-colour, or even mood-to-mood. Ease is interpreted in the softness of this season’s fabrications, and their deliberately unstructured details” and goes on to add, “there’s nothing wrong with a laid-back tee over a dressy skirt for instance…..don’t be surprised if you think your son’s tee or sweater is on inside out: exposed seams and raw edges reflect an insouciant charm.”

Baby segment

In Bangalore, Kanz , the leading German Kidswear brand was launched by Prateek Apparels this September. “Bangalore is a market with good buying potential and avid shoppers. We aim to provide them with quality kids’ wear at their doorstep now,” says Pradeep Agarwal, Managing Director, Prateek, “The Kanz range is high on functionality followed by design. Comfort is very important – especially in the baby segment.”

Esprit is another popular brand. Why did Esprit come into the field of kids’ wear?

“To complete the lifestyle offering of the brand” says  Manjula, Country Head, Esprit, India, What about the price range? “In kids’ wear our pricing is average, starting from Rs 450 and going up to Rs 2,000, in keeping with other premium kids’ wear brands available in India.”

Bossini has launched the “Pop Star” collection for kids, “inspired by the divas of music & pop stars. The collection sports a peppy look with simple stripes & checks, and clean bright primary colours. The silhouettes include mix & match layering with sporty chic tees, jogging pants, skinny jeans, pleated skirts, raw edge denim, metal studs, glitter prints and embroidery badges.”

The Bossini range includes the “All Star Team”, a Kids collection inspired by the all American collegiate look. The clothes bear imprints of varsity logos and school badges, with colour blocking in two-tone bold stripes and team numbers.

"RUFF KIDS" is yet another large-selling brand, comprising trousers, denims, Capri’s, shorts, shirts, t-shirts, jackets and so on, complemented by a wide variety of accessories such as socks, undergarments, water bottles, caps, belts, wallets, tennis balls and what have you.

Pantaloon and Gini and Jony have entered into a joint venture to set up a chain of retail stores for kidswear while Raymond has launched its first store for kids' apparel called 'Zapp!'  In a nutshell, today the sky is the limit where kids’ wear is concerned!