2010 has been an interesting year for fashion. This is the year where the press criticized celebrity baby Suri Cruise for wearing expensive designer kid’s clothing. This is the year where designer brands began to actively produce clothes for children-as there seems to be a market for expensive kid’s clothing. This is the year where children and adults alike explored the potentials of fashion from another culture-with Japanese and Korean fashion being in the forefront of the kid’s clothing and adult clothing fashion trends. And the year has not even ended!
So what can people expect for the year 2011? It’s not too early to tell: after all, designers and clothing companies release their clothing lines early. The likes of Ducci and even lesser known brands such as Ouef Eco have already shown their 2011 designs, among many others. What prominent trends can be seen from these early kid’s clothing releases?
Perhaps the most prominent trend to surge for the year 2011 is the theme of practical luxury or elegance for kid’s clothing. Again, this is a trend that probably stemmed from the “Suri Cruise effect,” wherein children want to wear designer clothes and parents want to dress their children in design brands. However, the clothing companies are gunning for something appropriate for kids despite its designer-luxury trappings. These designer kid’s clothing items will be comfortable and will steer away from styles that are inappropriate for the toddler and pre-teen set.
Of course, don’t expect these “practical luxuries” to be practically priced.
The eco-conscious theme will also become prominent in 2011, sipping its way from the adult runway to the kid’s clothing industry. Expect kid’s clothing pieces made from highly sustainable materials such as bamboo, organic cotton, and other similar fabrics. In short: frivolous is out, environmental trends are in.
Fashion pundits are already proclaiming the year 2011 as the year when the 80s rocker look returns. Expect this influence to become apparent in kid’s clothing-or at least in teen and pre-teen clothing. Don’t expect kid’s clothing to incorporate the leather and the highly sexualized look of 80s rock, although many will see the disgruntled, mixed and matched styles that the 80s made popular.
Because of this, Japanese-inspired kid’s clothing will become a bigger hit in 2011. This fashion aesthetic somewhat adheres to the concept of 80s fashion-clothes and accessories that shouldn’t match but go well together anyway, the somewhat mature Victorian-inspired dresses, the exotic Lolita-styled dresses made innocent and child-like (and therefore safe yet cute).
For girl’s fashion, expect dresses with flowing fabrics. This trend, which is more apparent in countries such as Australia and United Kingdom, is likely to be incorporated in kid’s clothing-a far cry from the current trend of flesh showing for women’s fashion. What not to expect in kid’s clothing in 2011: velvet. Many fashion journalists are already seeing velvet as a major material in some of the biggest designs for next year-but it’s unlikely that this material will enter the kid’s clothing scene.
It goes without saying that the year 2011 is still several months away-anything can happen in the world of kid’s clothing.
