Fashion is for everyone whether they’re a month or a century old. Co-founders Ritu Ajbani and Neha Agarwal have opened up a world of fashion for children, from new-borns to 13-year-olds, at their multi-designer store called Petit Royal. Meaning ‘little royal’ in French, the store stocks everything from clothes to accessories to keep your little one in vogue.
“The philosophy of the company is that every child should feel special and royal wearing our products. We launched Petit Royal because there was a huge vacuum in the kids’ market. We see it as a fast-growing industry. Fashion connoisseurs have always seen fashion as an extension of themselves into every aspect of their lives. Similarly, every parent sees their child as an extension of themselves. Hence, we felt that there was real potential in terms of business scalability and actual sales for brands/designers,” says Ajbani. The store was launched in February in Lower Parel, Mumbai.
“We currently house 30-35 designers all from within India. We are a one-stop shop housing brands like Archana Kocchar, Papa Don’t Preach by Shubhika, Teacup Kidswear by Pernia Qureshi, Karassa Baby, Gempetit, Ruchika Lath Label, Fayon kids, Panchii Couture, Coo coo kids, Lil Angels, Kirti Agarwal-Varsha Showering Trends, Neeti Goenka and many more,” says she, adding that the top sellers for babies between 0-2 years are customised rompers, bib sets and zip swaddles, and for older kids they have a range of exclusive Indian, festive and Western party wear, hair accessories, headgear and footwear.
But one can’t help but think why the two partners chose to stock work by other designers instead of just launching a boutique with their own designs. “We decided to stock work of other designers rather than designing ourselves because we found the concept of getting so many designers under one roof more challenging,” says Ajbani. She adds, “We offer everything that a child requires including apparel, shoes, accessories, personalised stationery, return gifts and gold and diamond jewelry exclusively designed for kids.,”
Their target customers are fashionable mothers who want their kids to dress stylishly. “Every mother is very well updated in terms of latest designes, brand launches, trends and so on. Parents are looking for something different and trendy, while kids need to be comfortable wearing the outfits,” she says. The top collections they’ve sold so far include two exclusive collections by Archana Kocchar and Papa Don’t Preach by Shubhika.
Apart from a huge range of designerwear for kids, the store also offers a list of special services. “We offer customisation in terms of colours and themes to our clients. We also do alterations if and when needed. A lot of clients request for exclusive products, and we cater to those requests. We have excellent after sales service as well. All this has enabled Petit Royal to become a strong brand in the city,” says she.
The co-founders believe that micro fashion is reflecting trends on ramps from various important fashion weeks across the world. It is also becoming more and more gender fluid as designers are moving away from the traditional colours and patterns used to differentiate clothing for male and female children. “In terms of colours, the boys party suits are now available in mauve, pink, neon green, orange and so on. Earlier, it was only the basic colours like blue, black, white and beige. In terms of patterns, floral prints are a favourite among boys, which were earlier considered girly. Girls also wear a lot of boy suits these days and a lot of bold prints too. Gender fluidity in fashion should be taken in a positive way,” says Ajbani.
