Fashion
Kenzo was revitalised by its 2011 change in creative direction, with the arrival of Opening Ceremony founders Carol Lim and Humberto Leon at the helm. The change has also benefitted the label’s children’s line, Kenzo Kids, for which the Kidiliz group (ex-Zannier) has held the licence since 2006. In fact, in a very competitive childrenswear market, Kenzo Kids has recorded annual growth fluctuating between 20 and 30%.
The reason for its success? An urban style coupled with strong iconography – in the form of the tiger and eye brand motifs – which has proved appealing to a wider and more international clientele. “Under Antonio Maras, the Kenzo Kids style was closer to Catimini – fresh and feminine. Now it’s more on-trend so our network has changed. We are more international, in the department stores, in pure-player, designer-oriented stores,” explains Anne Michailidis, Head of Sales and Marketing of the three designer brands under Kidiliz.
Resulting in the Kenzo Kids line being distributed at 750 sales points worldwide and even the opening of its own first monobrand boutiques. The first opened in Singapore in February (next to Paul Smith Junior) and others are planned for Hong Kong and Dubai. In Europe, the line is present in the form of stores-in-stores, expressing the world of Kenzo Kids across 30-square-metre spaces. Some 20 openings are forecast this year, including at La Rinascente in Milan. In France, the line is stocked at Printemps and at Galeries Lafayette Haussmann, with a network set for further development.
Another ‘new’ feature: the line is aimed at boys as much as at girls, whereas previously the line was oriented almost exclusively towards girls. “Since winter 2016 we have had as many girls’ garments as boys’, and customers come to us for both, which is rare for children’s labels,” explains Michailidis.
Every season some 350 Kenzo Kids items are available, from children aged 0-16 years. The price range is from around 50 euros for garments such as T-shirt to 200 euros for more ‘inspirational’ pieces from the runway. “We work directly with the parent company, we attend the show, we visit the showroom and keep the strongest design elements and use it to up our childrenswear savoir-faire,” says Laetitia Orlandi, head of collections at Kenzo Kids, who adds that her objective is to create for Kenzo Kids its own style world without imitating the adult version. In ‘kid format,’ the famous Kenzo tiger is surrounded by new friends including a little wolf with an extraordinarily long nose, and the Kenzo eye gives a mischievous wink.
