Designer childrenswear | What’s the point?
With the likes of high-end designers such as Oscar de la Renta and Roksanda Ilincic recently launching childrenswear collections, the ridiculous fact that 6-year-old Suri Cruise has an entire style blog dedicated to her, and now the news that Beyonce’s baby, Blue Ivy, is to receive a pair of shoes encrusted with $800 worth of Swarovski crystals designed by Ruthie Davis (did I mention she can’t walk yet?), it’s clear to see that pricey kids clobber is big business. But I have one question: why?
Last time I checked children grow quite a bit and rather fast during their early formative years, so little kiddies, no matter how famous, are going to grow out of their over-priced outfits just as fast. I can’t remember caring all that much about how big my behind looked in my hand-me-down dungarees when I was little and I definitely had no aspirations to emulate Carrie Bradshaw’s fancy footwear collection back then either. Fashion itself really wasn’t all that high a priority, because I was too busy being a messy, silly and extremely carefree child. So is designer childrenswear just an excuse for some parents to be self-indulgent show-offs?
Of course everyone wants their children to look nice and have the best, but aren’t there other ways of achieving this that don’t draw youngsters prematurely into an at times superficial and stressful world? Because it can be stressful; how many of us continue to contend with that age old dilemma of wardrobe full of clothes and not a thing to wear, especially when we really need to shoot out the door?
I’m aware when it comes to things like the Blue’s bejewelled booties, such extravagances are mere pocket change to many rich and famous people, and obviously it is completely up to them how they want to spend their money. However, could this trend be in danger of encouraging an unnecessary sense of snobbery among the young at a time when it should be far from their minds? Shouldn’t children be having fun with fashion in a more ‘I feel like wearing this sparkly tutu as a hat’ way, as opposed to ‘Yes, of course this is Dior’?
