SPIEGEL ONLINE - October 18, 2006, 03:30 PM
URL: http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,443145,00.html
Luxury Babies
Crawling Down the Catwalk
By Simone Kaiser
As birth rates in the West decline, children become status symbols --
and blank slates for showy, affluent parents. Marketers have jumped on
the trend. Their message? When it comes to luxury, no customer is too young.
"Baby Touch," a fragrance by Burberry.
"Baby Touch," a fragrance by Burberry.
Most parents would agree that the smell of babies is rather special.
Some might even call this blend of milk, baby powder and used diapers
one of nature's loveliest smells. Product developers for the British
luxury brand Burberry, however, disagreed. Babies, according to their
notion, should smell like "citrus aromas, wind mint, a touch of Lily of
the Valley, rhubarb jelly, verbena and vanilla." At least those are the
ingredients in Burberry's new "Baby Touch" perfume, which retails for
€43 for a 100 milliliter flask.
Business is booming for marketers of luxury products for kids. Women in
the West tend to wait longer to have their first child and wind up
having fewer children. This means that parents, relatives and friends
are getting older and more affluent, while the number of babies to dote
on shrinks.
This demographic shift has been a boon to marketers as they introduce
one absurdly luxurious product after another, designed specifically for
babies and toddlers. For example: Baby Dior makes tiny fur slippers for
newborns, Tiffany a sterling silver, €225 rattle for baptisms. Hermès
offers its own exclusively-priced version of a rocking horse. The more
outlandish and expensive the product, it seems, the more successful it
can be.
"Children are becoming increasingly precious and expensive, because
nowadays they serve as symbols of their parents' wealth," says
Hans-Georg Häusel, a psychologist and consumer researcher. "A
well-dressed child is a reflection of one's own lifestyle." Häusel
advises companies on how to position their products. He's convinced he
knows why "demonstrative consumption" is so popular these days. "People
want to set themselves apart from others. Even monkeys pass on their
status to their offspring. It's deeply engrained in our behavioral biology."
The luxury segment may be tricky, says Häusel, but it is certainly one
"in which there is plenty of money to be made." Sales of the Baby Dior
brand alone have increased by 60 percent in the last three years. "In
2005, sales of children's clothing amounted to €2.64 billion," says
Heijo Gassenmeier, the deputy director of the Federal Association of
German Textile Retailers. "Premium goods make up only a small percentage
of that total," says Gassenmeier, "but the fact that sales figures have
remained steady despite a declining birth rate in the past few years
suggests that parents are spending a lot of money on clothing for their
children."
The industry owes its success to mothers like Anna Beeni, 29. Beeni
strolls along Goethestraße in Frankfurt, one of Germany's most opulent
shopping thoroughfares, with her six-year-old daughter in tow. She's
headed for August Pfüller and its four floors of children's fashion and
accessories. According to Germany's Federal Office of Statistics,
parents spend an average of €549 a month on their children. Anna Beeni
is no exception. She expects to spend about €3,000 for her daughter
Verena's winter wardrobe. "I don't look at the price, just the brand,"
says Beeni.
And Beeni's daughter, Verena, knows exactly what she wants: "a new
Seven." She means a US jeans brand called "Seven for all Mankind,"
popular among adults for its sexy tailoring. The kids' version, priced
at €150, features the same low-slung style as the company's adult jeans.
"Like being a princess for a day"
The best place to catch a glimpse of what the chic kids are wearing
today is "Pitti Immagine Bimbo" in Florence. It's the world's largest
children's fashion convention, where fashion houses like Laura Biagiotti
send their dolled-up child models onto the "Cakewalk," as the miniature
runway is jokingly dubbed. The shows and designs look whimsical, but
it's a market that everyone takes seriously.
Slippers by Baby Dior.
Slippers by Baby Dior.
Major designer labels like Louis Vuitton, Dior and Gucci are all cashing
in on items like children's blankets and diaper bags that sport their
respective logos. At "Laura Biagiotti Dolls," the eponymous designer's
daughter handles clothes for the younger fashionable set. Lavinia
Biagiotti says sales are strongest in Germany. "I think it's important
to get kids excited about beauty," she says.
Biagiotti, 28, in charge of design, says most of her inspiration comes
from the company's prêt-à-porter line for adults. At the moment the line
is all about "knitwear embellished with Lurex and crystal beads. But the
materials are suitable for children," says Biagiotti, "easy to care for
and usually washable." Usually.
Axel Dammler of Iconkids & Youth, a market research institute, says,
"The designers are filling a new niche with these products, and they are
introducing children to their brands at a very early age. Of course,
three-year-olds don't exactly understand the concept of luxury." But
their parents do. "In our society, the gap between rich and poor is
getting wider, and so is the need for people to differentiate themselves
and their children from everyone else. Even if all that means is buying
the right polo shirt."
Parents aren't the only ones buying. Grandparents with only one
grandchild to spoil and -- especially -- friends with no children of
their own have a propensity for buying high-ticket gifts. It's a
phenomenon Dammler calls "compensatory consumption."
An end to the spending spree isn't in sight. This year's "Child & Youth"
convention in Cologne drew a record number of visitors looking for the
latest in toys, sheets and strollers. The exhibit covers more than 16
acres. "Many parents come here looking for something special, something
that perfectly complements their own inner convictions," says Oliver
Kuhrt, managing director of Koelnmesse, which organizes the show. "These
people spend tens of thousands of euros on a kitchen -- why should they
forgo style in the children's room?"
Some of the convention's highlights include the "Calla" designer
highchair, at €895, or the "Route 66" car seat, covered in leather so it
won't clash with daddy's pseudo-SUV. But the biggest seller in Cologne
this year is called "Bugaboo," a minimalist stroller from the
Netherlands. According to the company's press spokeswoman, "the white,
limited edition model is now available for €1,500."
The celebrity factor is partly responsible for these extreme prices. A
"Bugaboo" was featured in the television series "Sex and the City." Tom
Heim of Pamperwithstyle.de, an Internet mail-order company, says, "We
specialize in Fleurville diaper bags" -- but it doesn't hurt Heim's
company that supermodel Heidi Klum and Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth
Paltrow have been spotted toting diapers and baby food in its €525
leather "Luxe Bag."
There are even glossy magazines and spa services for the current
generation of pampered kids. At Munich's "Noemi & Friends," where the
shampoo is chocolate-scented, boys can get temporary tattoos and girls
can enjoy mini makeup sessions. Birthday parties where girls gather to
have their hair done are among the salon's most popular services. With
their mothers footing the bill, "the children have a great time," says
salon owner and founder Diana Miller. "It's like being a princess for a
day."
Only a day?
"Many children are growing up in a completely unrealistic world of brand
names," warns youth expert Karin Fries of "Synovate Kids & Teens," a
Bavarian research firm. "The parents don't even realize that they're
asking far too much of their children." Fries is especially concerned
about skin care and cosmetics products for children. "Children's skin
doesn't need makeup. But perhaps that's too simplistic in a world where
one can even buy dog perfume."
Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan
