Why are more and more Indians splurging on designer wear for their kids?

From Gucci to Givenchy, an increasing number of Indians are splurging on designer wear for their kids. We look at the changing landscape of this growing market

Kylie Jenner’s four-year-old daughter Stormi Webster has a better wardrobe than most adults. Think Prada, Yeezy, Gucci and, of course, Coperni. Not one to be left behind, her nine-year-old cousin North West is fast becoming a regular on the Paris Fashion Week circuit. 

In Dubai, it’s not unusual to see mothers and daughters kitted in Dolce & Gabbana, creating a twinning moment during their shopping sprees at the Dubai Mall. Closer home, more retailers are stocking high-end clothing for children. On TataCliQ Luxury, you’ll find Balmain and Elie Saab dresses for girls from ages four to fourteen. And at Les Petits–both online and in-store–there are Dolce & Gabbana and Moschino bomber jackets for kids. 

There’s a cultural shift at play here—once reserved for special occasions like birthdays and weddings, it’s increasingly common to see kids sporting Givenchy and Kenzo during casual outings. From style-conscious millennial malls to the expansion of the luxury sector, we explore the metamorphosis of the luxury kidswear market in India.

Market sentiment

According to Research and Markets, the Indian kidswear market value is set to reach $22.53 billion by FY2026—a growth at a CAGR of 5.89 per cent from $16.62 billion in FY2020. This growth seen in Tier-I and Tier-II cities is largely a result of the rise of nuclear families with fewer children and more disposable income. They lead aspirational lives with car upgrades, branded clothes as well as lifestyle experiences. 

“When buying children's clothing, consumers used to be highly price conscious and rarely gave the ‘brand name’ any consideration. However, as urban shoppers' purchasing power has grown, so has their willingness to spend on children's apparel,” says actor Dia Mirza. She just invested in an organic babywear brand Greendigo. Other actors who are invested in the segment include Lara Dutta and Alia Bhatt. Last October, Business Insider reported that Bhatt’s brand, Ed-a-Mamma, grew ten-fold in just ten months of launching and was valued at ₹ 150 crores. “I’ve certainly noticed more children wearing labels as there is greater access to brands now. You no longer need to travel to buy baby Burberry or baby Gucci,” adds influencer Mitali Sagar, co-founder of MISU.

Multi-brand retailers are on the rise

India’s luxury market is worth an estimated $8.5 billion in 2022, according to Euromonitor International. Capitalising on this roaring market are not only luxury labels with a dedicated section for mini-mes—at Gucci, an entire rack is devoted to just the little ones—but also premium multi-brand boutiques. “When Les Petits was established in 2011, the market was quite untapped,” says Swati Saraf, president, Les Petits, a multi-designer kids boutique with two outlets in New Delhi, one in Mumbai, and an e-commerce platform that stocks Stella Rose and Moschino. “Customers are embracing luxury brands to style up their children according to the ongoing trends. Looking at the rising awareness; the luxury industry is slated to grow manifold in the next five years,” she adds. But it’s not just the metropolitan cities where you’ll find designer wear boutiques for kids. Kidsup, another multi-brand store, has outposts in Jaipur and Chandigarh and retails bridge-to-luxury and premium labels like Sonia Rykiel and Emporio Armani.  "

Instagram and the millennial parents

On Instagram, 230.25 million users are from India—the largest market for the social media platform. “The rise of social media has played a huge part in creating a need for things parents wouldn’t otherwise ever think of buying,” says Sagar. Celebrities posting photos of their immaculately dressed offspring certainly skyrockets the demand for designer clothes for kids. Remember Jenner’s Fendi baby stroller that resulted in the product being sold out in 2018? Many millennial parents love the idea of ‘twinning’. “Designer clothes are a fashion statement, and parents want their kids to be as stylish as them,” explains Saraf—a look at the rise of ‘kidfluencers’ is enough to explain the power of social media. In Tokyo, 11-year-old @coco_pinkprincess has over 563K followers and is often seen in Gucci. Meanwhile, Burberry listed four-year-old Sahib Singh as part of their children’s Fall/Winter 2022 campaign. 

Indian designer wear for kids 

Even Indian designers have forayed into the designer ethnic kidswear category of late. Four years ago, Payal Singhal started her children’s wear line with dresses, lehenga cholis and kurta pajamas. Karan Torani plunged into it soon after launching his own label, Torani. His kidswear retails from ₹ 11,000 and goes up to ₹ 96,000—not a small price to pay for an outfit that won’t fit the child in a few years. “The aspiration has increased, and the upper middle class in India is consuming luxury fashion today, which wasn't the case 10 years ago,” explains Torani, for whom twinning has been the most demanded request “I can't tell you the number of orders we've taken for matching outfits with the mother and father. Sometimes we've done it for 15 family members together.” 

For Nitya Bajaj, a New Delhi-based womenswear designer, it was when she found it difficult to find well-fitted occasion wear for her two kids that she decided to design her own. “We have seen a 40 per cent  growth in our kidswear sales since last year. So it is one segment which is given equal importance as our womenswear division,” adds Bajaj. 

However, none of the designers have a dedicated children’s wear category.  “Indian wear is limited to only a certain season–it starts from Raksha Bandhan and ends during the wedding season in January. You won’t put your child in a lehenga or sherwani if you are just going for lunch, but you may put him in maybe a Gucci top,” adds Torani.

The more conscious consumer

While there is most definitely a surge in demand for high-end kids' clothing, it isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. Bajaj, who is a savvy dresser herself, as are her kids, believes in limiting luxury purchases for special occasions since kids grow out of them in no time. Sagar, too, has a more mindful approach towards children’s fashion. “Fashion is a fast industry, and what’s hot now may not be so tomorrow. In the current climate, there’s a power struggle between sustainable living and consumer culture,” she says. She doesn’t buy expensive labels for her toddler Krish, and he often wears his cousin’s clothes. There is a small but growing breed of parents who don’t compromise on style yet don’t fall for trends. “Millennial moms are conscious and intelligent consumers. I also love and respect the fact that millennial mothers support sustainability and knowing their child would outgrow the styles soon, they look at designs that could be worn multiple times,” adds Bajaj. 

“The definition of ‘luxury kidswear’ for me, personally, is that everyone should have access to the luxury of prioritising our children's health and being able to learn more about natural fabrics and their advantages for their health and wellbeing," says Mirza.  

Conscious consumer or not, ultimately, it all boils down to numbers. For those  spending ₹ 12,000 on a Balmain T-shirt or ₹ 54,000 on a Dolce & Gabbana bomber for their child, it doesn’t matter if the kids will grow out of them soon. The demand is there, so the clothes are there—and the growth rate of the current luxury market proves it.   

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