NATIONAL: When Australians don their board shorts, Europeans slip on their winter trenches.
But seasonal delays are set to be ignored for the worldwide launch of luxury children's line Boss Kidswear. Domestic sales for the brand's debut spring/summer 2010 collection kicked off earlier this month, with the first retail delivery not scheduled until next year.
European-headquartered licensing group Children Worldwide Fashion (CWF) has developed the new line in partnership with luxury player Hugo Boss; designing, producing and distributing its collection for girls and boys (aged four to 16) across key fashion capitals.CWF has an established Australian arm which distributed collections from Burberry, DKNY, Elle, Timberland, Escada and French label Marithe and Francois Girbaud. Local director Eva Massai said the childrenswear market was performing "very well", despite talk of a tough trading climate.
"The Hugo Boss brand is also already well established," she said. "We want to start with around 10 [stockists] for the official launch and grow this number in coming collections."
The boys' collection takes pride of place, with four separate lines spanning across 'premium', 'fashion', 'lifestyle' and 'sport high tech'. The premium line will offer a range of high-quality separates such as cashmere sweaters and collared shirts along with three suiting options; the fashion line comprises casual outfits such as Bermudas, jeans and striped cotton jackets; while the lifestyle and high tech lines both employed sportswear themes.
Massai expected the casual collections to be a hit in the Australian market.
"The concept with CWF is to offer international luxury brands at an affordable price - each client can build their collection according to their budget. For an indication, a boy's T-shirt will be around $80 retail price and a shirt could be around $150."
The girls' collection comprised of two lines - 'premium' and 'fashion'. The former includes suiting combinations such as a fitted white jacket on straight Bermudas and a printed shirt or a sleeveless waistcoat jacket paired with a straight black skirt. The latter range is more casual with cotton and linen skirts, flared cotton gabardine flared pants, a raspberry openwork cotton dress and a nylon trench.