India’s luxury kids fashion industry scores phenomenally on sustainability, design, and safety

Photo credit: RENÉE Cosmetics, Shweta Mukherjee, and Beej Lakhani 

Kids are stylish, and given a chance, they can give the hippest influencers a run for their money! Don’t take us otherwise, because the sprawling kids luxury fashion industry is not a joke. Indian brands see humongous scope in unravelling this target audience. There are dedicated teams for understanding how kids want to style themselves and how often would they like to change over for a new avatar. Love The World Today (LTWT), a young clothing brand founded in 2015, has developed a strong market for homegrown luxury kids clothing with an impressive value addition of sustainability.

Dipna Daryanani, Co-founder, LTWT, talks about the challenges the brand faced in educating people about sustainability and the benefits of a homegrown brand. The pride in homegrown entities is recent, which is advantageous for a brand founded by two sisters, rooting for transparent operations. 

Baking on functionality, comfort and quality

“Children until the age of 2 years are dependent on their caregivers for washing themselves. So, functionality, comfort and quality are fundamental aspects of design for kids’ clothes. One of our ethnic wear collections, ‘The Earth Laughs in Flowers’, is made of handwoven cotton by artisans in Madhya Pradesh. As a textile, this fabric hasn’t been explored in the kidswear segment. It immediately looks rich and luxurious without compromising on simplicity and comfort. It allows them to move,” says Dipna. 

‘Majama’ is one such exquisite range by LTWT that consists of kurta pajamas in daily wear, play wear and lounge wear categories, made of handwoven cotton from West Bengal. Purpose-led production was a conscious choice for LTWT, which explored India’s rich history in textiles that can’t be mass-produced and are only possible by honed artisans down generations. “Hand-weaving, block printing, and handmade textile are time-consuming processes. You also need to think of upcycling programmes of products of such high emotional value. So, we chose high-quality clothing that also survives wear-and-tear from children’s use,” Dipna maintains, adding that the brand also uses third-party tech to buy back the used LTWT products once the child outgrows the garments, thus completing the sustainability circle.

As consumers tend to spend more on kidswear with a lot of foreign brands in the market now, LTWT is upholding Indian textiles and enjoying the value and appreciation of dresses made with thought and care. Majama was launched mid-2021 and was sold out in a couple of weeks. Shipping worldwide, LTWT is experimenting with handblock prints based on children’s tales, on 100 percent cotton. There is another ethnicwear range on organic cotton and natural dyes that LTWT targets for the July-August festive season. 

Cosmetics that glam up safely

Taking the experimentation a notch higher is RENÉE Cosmetics, as co-founder and Director Aashka Goradia Goble has a surprise for pre-teens. Princess by RENÉE is the only brand today in the Indian beauty industry that has researched and created an exclusive cosmetics product range for pre-teens. Inspiration struck after closely studying the amazement children have with their mother’s lipsticks and cosmetics. Devising a scope to turn that adorable plaything into a conscious makeup range for sensitive skin of children, Princess is a range that parents won’t find any trouble with their children indulging in.

Answering the pertinent questions on safety concerns, RENÉE Cosmetics uses products that are dermatologically tested, free from nasty chemicals, paraben-free, cruelty-free, and vegan. Apart from that, each product has multiple nourishing ingredients, making them mild and safe on delicate skin.

“Indian markets are becoming more dynamic each passing day and so is the inclusivity and awareness about global trends and lifestyles. Due to this, there’s also a rise in new brands coming up every now and then giving parents several options to choose from. Hence, we are seeing more brands catering to kids' luxury fashion,” states Aashka.