Designer Duds… for Kids

by Natasha Wolff | March 7, 2013 12:00 am

Net-A-Porter[1] founder Natalie Massenet may have pioneered the chic online exclusive, but there’s one part of the luxury market that she’s yet to dip her stylish toes into. And there’s a new entrepreneur filling that void in e-commerce town: Nathalie Christen-Genty, a model look-a-like and Parisian mother of four whose designer children’s boutique Melijoe[2] has already become a huge hit throughout Europe. As Nathalie told DuJour at the site’s stateside launch preview, “I began to take an interest in children’s fashion after my first child was born in 2003. It was a niche industry that I was previously unaware of, and like with women’s fashion I was immediately seduced when I stared to follow the world of children’s design, luxury and style.”

Children’s luxury can be a tough sell when kids grow out of their clothes so fast, but like with Net-A-Porter’s successful marketing model, it’s the draw of the gorgeous off-the-runway exclusives, bright, colorful online editorial and the convenience of online shopping and quick delivery that has made Melijoe so appealing to fashion saavy parents. The labels available for infants to 16-year-olds include Dolce & Gabanna[3], Chloe[4], John Galliano[5], Kenzo[6] and Versace[7] and many more. There are even mini-me versions of actual runway pieces that are only available through the site.

And Nathalie’s plans for expansion of Melijoe won’t stop here, she says, “we’re working to add Burberry[8], Ovale, Ermanno Scervino, Stella McCartney[9], Richmonde, Moncler[10] and Moschino to the site, plus many more. There were even brands that approached us this season wanting to be on Melijoe.”

With in-demand designers flocking to the site just as quickly as their savvy clientele, there’s no doubt that Melijoe’s U.S. debut will be a huge hit. Watch out, Suri, you may have some serious kiddie couture competition on the horizon. 

Source URL: https://dujour.com/style/designer-childrens-clothes-shopping/