On the eve of his first birthday, Britain’s Prince George reigns supreme as the world’s most influential toddler.
The royal wedding between the former Kate Middleton (it’s Catherine now, thank you very much) and Prince William reignited worldwide interest in the royal family to a level not seen since the late Princess Diana ruled the tabloids. The ‘Kate Effect,’ which has been bolstering sales for her preferred fashion designers for years, was coined to describe the Duchess of Cambridge’s ability to make every dress she wears a sell-out.
Now, it seems, she’s not the only trendsetter in the family.
Ever since making his debut at his first official engagement on the family’s tour of Australia and New Zealand in April, the adorable toddler has become a style icon in his own right and having a measurable effect on the children’s luxury fashion business.
“He is such a high profile baby and he’s brought lots of attention and excitement to the brand,” says London-based designer Rachel Riley whose upscale line of traditional children’s clothing is a staple in the little prince’s wardrobe. “It’s been phenomenal for the business to have Prince George wearing pieces from the collection. Personally, as a British citizen, if there’s one child I’d want to dress it’s the heir to the throne. I’m absolutely thrilled.”
Riley, who says the couple “has shopped as everyone else does” for the clothing, had no idea the Prince George would be wearing her designs on during the tour (“I knew he had a few pieces”) and was caught off guard when he wore the sailboat smocked ‘dungarees’ ($129) for the playdate in New Zealand, a blue cardigan ($89) when he departed the plane in Canberra and striped polo ($69) and navy shorts ($89) on Easter Sunday at an Australian zoo. His Easter outfit sold out within a few hours in stores and online. “We had to make more and a waiting list. We were able to replenish the stock within four to six weeks so that everyone who wanted those pieces was able to get them.” The other pieces, part of the designer’s permanent ‘Heritage’ collection’ were also snapped up quickly but once again available.
Since having Prince George photographed wearing her collection Riley reports an uptick in store traffic in her two boutiques in Central London as well as her Madison Avenue store. (The brand is also available at 100 specialty stores worldwide including Saks Fifth Avenue and Takashimaya) “A lot of our customers were excited and came in to say hello. Others came in for the first time because they’d heard of the collection from the (royal) trip. It’s all been incredibly exciting and of course, very good for business.”
Other labels including the Belgian brand Les Petite Abeilles sold hundreds of a nautical themed romper worn on the same trip. Spanish childrenswear company Neck & Neck saw their pinstriped overalls disappear from the stores in less than 24 hours after George was photographed wearing them while taking a few tentative steps across a polo field in England.
George’s style maker status has some of his parents’ favorite children’s brands happily playing catch-up. London Shoe manufacturer Early Days, makers of the leather “prewalkers” ($50) the prince often wears, was so overwhelmed by amount of traffic on their website after photographs of the royal baby in their brand appeared, they temporarily suspended online sales. Now back up and running, the site trumpets their most famous customer. “We couldn’t have chosen a better baby to model our shoes!” enthuses managing director Paul Bolton in a recent post. “Early Days have seen interest in their products and sales explode since the prince was seen wearing not one but two pairs of shoes.” A constant stream of emails and calls has been coming inquiring about the shoes from America and Japan reports Bolton.
The ripple effect of the Cambridge’s penchant for traditional children’s wear is being felt in other ways says Kim Proal, vice president of operations for Citibabes, a private social club for families in New York City’s Soho. “The downtown cool look is not as prevalent as it had been,” says Proal. “We are definitely seeing a trend toward bib overalls and even saddle shoes. Retailers are switching to that look and a lot of our moms are looking at what Prince George is wearing. He’s absolutely setting trends.”
Aside from reviving interest in traditional children’s clothing, (“The royals have shown people how wonderful it is to dress a baby like a baby, not a mini-me. It’s so inappropriate to put babies in adult fashions,” says Riley) perhaps George’s most significant contribution has been striking a blow for fashion equality among the toddler set. “Most people think it’s more fun to dress girls in beautiful well-made clothes,” says Riley. “We’ve always sold more for girls than boys. In the last few months, sales for boys are catching up. Boys deserve to be well dressed, too.
