The “mini-me” trend in high-end fashion—in which the design of children’s apparel, even for toddlers, emulates the look of adult pieces—goes back more than two decades. But it has been gaining traction over the past five years, driven in part by social media shots of celebrities’ and influencers’ children and their fashion-forward style choices, as well as the continued entry of luxury and trend-forward designers into the children’s space.
The momentum doesn’t seem to be slowing, with many new examples introduced in 2017 and 2018. In May, British designer Cath Kidston introduced a mini-me collection for women and girls in this year’s hot color, yellow. Items include a variety of brightly patterned summer dresses, as well as socks and a range of bags. Cartoon Network’s Powerpuff Girls and Ugly Dolls have been featured in 2018 editions of the Fashion Comics initiative—a feature of the twice-a-year Pitti Bimbo fashion trade show in Italy—in which a group of upcoming labels create mini-me capsules inspired by the respective properties.
Characteristics of mini-me collections include:
- Styles and colors that mirror adult collections, sometimes almost exactly, as when Armani creates the same blue wool coat for mothers and their young daughters, the latter under the Armani Jr. brand.
- The same materials and embellishments that are used in adult apparel lines, ranging from fur, silk, and leather to detailed embroidery and sequins, as illustrated by Dolce & Gabbana’s false-fur mini-me coat.
- Prices that nearly match their adult counterparts. Balmain’s mini-me items have included a girl’s dress for $6,000.
- Accessories to match, including handbags and shoes. Steven Madden has been part of this trend, producing adult-like wedges and sneakers for little ones, while Synclaire Brands has offered children’s espadrilles, sandals, and wedges under its Michael Michael Kors and Stuart Weitzman licenses.
Over the years, designer labels that have jumped on this trend have included Versace, Ralph Lauren, Dior, Burberry, Junior Gaultier, Little Marc Jacobs, Sergio Tacchini, Giuseppe Zanotti’s Giuseppe Junior, and many more. The trend encompasses both in-house produced and licensed children’s wear lines, and extends to collections sold all around the world. In some cases, identical items are produced for mother and child, while in others the children’s line simply emulates adult styles without being meant as a pairing.
Most of the attention has been on the luxury end of the scale, but the mini-me trend has also hit more mainstream brands and retailers. A few years ago, River Island introduced an affordable mini-me range of 100 items for children aged 0 months to 3 years in the U.K., while H&M, Zara, and GapKids have offered many styles over the years that dovetail with this approach.
On a separate subject, Raugust Communications’ e-newsletter goes out tomorrow (Tuesday, August 21, 2018). This edition’s Licensing Topic of the Month looks at what can be learned from the end of some longtime licensing deals in recent months, while the Datapoint research spotlight focuses on the types of celebrities active in licensing, collaboration, and other forms of product extension. If you are not yet a subscriber, sign up here.
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