Roberto Cavalli animal print handbags, Kenzo bobble hats, Fendi leather coats and John Galliano waistcoats sounds like a pretty standard (yet super trendy) catwalk show, but think of all these in mini versions and you’re at Global Kids Fashion Week! The much-anticipated events took place last week hosted by AlexandAlexa, the  website for kids fashion.

The market for children’s clothing in the UK is huge, it is estimated to be worth £6.5 billion and worldwide the figures are 10 times that. After seeing what was on offer on the catwalks last week, it is no wonder, this is a market that is just too irresistible. Celebrity parents and fashionistas can’t help but spend so much on their little ones’ wardrobes when there is so much cuteness on offer.

At this event alone, the line-up included Little Marc Jacobs, Junior Gaultier, Chloe, Oscar De La Renta, Diesel and Paul Smith Junior but to name a few. Most of the luxury brands have a children’s clothing line nowadays.  Tickets for the two day event were a complete sell out, with proceedings going to charity, Kids Company.  30 designers, a combination of well known brands and upcoming labels were to showcase their forthcoming collections for this Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter 2013.

 fashion has no barrier when it comes to age

There was a sense of ’90s revival’ a tribute to a decade when prints were bold, little statement details and bright colours; perfect for the little child models to claim the runway and have some fun down the catwalk. Of course there would have been a few tantrums and tears along there way but from the front row there was a lot of smiles and even some break-dancing moves. The models knew they were making a new fashion statement, ready to show the world that fashion has no barrier when it comes to age, in fact the smaller the cuter ♥

Tangerine dressed with sapphire blue or black was a popular wardrobe choice, Juicy Couture shows some bright orange jeans dressed with a printed top and navy blazer with stitch detailing and gold buttons. Kenzo chose print and texture for this colour combination which works so well. Marc Jacobs opts for a spotty black on black duffel coat with a fur hooded trim dressed over a simple tangerine coloured dress and of course a cross-body bag with fur trimming.

Subtle mixed prints and texture were amongst one of the looks for Anne Kurris, metallic leggings, an orange tunic dress with a panel of animal print dressed with a fluffy cream jacket and a contrasting animal print scarf. Billie Blush had an adorable classic double breasted coat, in a textural fabric with gold buttons, piping detail and a double collar; finished with a simple black bow neck tie. This statement fur ombre jacket by Mack Biscotti is definitely one of my favourite pieces from the whole week, it is just gorgeous, styled with a monochrome dress.

A signature colour palette for Chloe, using blush and sandy nude tones with crisp white cotton blouses. Missoni also used the same pastel tones for a twin set, fine knit dress and cardi combination.

It was all about cool statement skirts for John Galliano and Junior Gaultier; John Galliano chose oversized dogtooth dressed with a printed word tee whilst Junior Gaultier used a coloured tutu like skirt styled up with a bad girl leather jacket and finished with a innocent smile from the model wearing the ensemble…just perfect

I love when adult trends are taken and translated into kidswear styles that you wouldn’t usually see on little girls, like a metallic grey skirt suit or a dress made from a mens tailoring fabric. It works well and the models look happy and most importantly so on trend. The small details of a puffball skirt or a coloured ribbon trim make them instantly desirable for little girls.

Just by looking at the styling and prints you can instantly recognise the brands that own these pieces but the way they have been adapted to the childrens clothing market is what is important. It is not as easy as creating ‘mini me’ styles in smaller sizes, it’s about having fun and thinking about what the kids would want to wear. For Diesel it was a signature leather jacket with gold metallic jeans and a stripey top, almost mini rock chic. Roberto Cavalli showed a mixed print dress, with animal and floral, what the designer is known for. The ultimate statement accessory for the week has to be the leopard print ball bag.

The event was in collaboration with the V&A Museum of childhood, providing lots of entertainment for the children and yummy mummy’s who came to town for the mini fashionista event of the year.  Equiped with child-friendly nail varnish company Little BU, a bloggers lounge and a sponsored photobooth and of course no childrens event is complete without a candy floss and popcorn machine  ♥

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