What does it mean to be a kid? According to Jim Taylor, a marketing expert who recently studied teenagers' preferences, "Having a Gucci scarf is part of being a kid today."
An article in today's LA Times explores the heightened awareness that young kids have for luxury brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton. The owner of Kitson, a high end LA store, jokingly calls these young consumers "ABC Girls", for Armani, Blahnik and Chanel -- since they wear everything branded.
Why is there such an awareness? Some of it is the parents, who dress their kids up in designer clothes as a way of showing their affluence. However, much of it is the media. The kids read US Magazine or Teen Vogue or see Nicole Richie carrying a particular handbag, and they learn to identify and covet particular brands.
A Gucci scarf seems pretty harmless. Likewise, a modest Gucci bag. Why worry when a 'tween gets chic? Unfortunately, these items are the fashion equivalent of "gateway drugs". The marketers hope that the 'tween won't stop at the scarf. That as she ages, she'll stay loyal to the brand and keep acquiring new pieces. If the marketing of these labels weren't so toxic, this wouldn't be problematic.
However, do we really want a 12 year old aspiring to look like this?
Is it any wonder that the incidence of eating disorders is increasing in "younger age groups, as young as 7 years," that "30 - 40% of junior high girls worry about weight," that "40% of 9 year old girls have dieted," or that "40 - 60% of highschool girls diet," or that the incidence of eating disorders has "doubled since the 1960s."
What next? Underweight babies sporting Gucci diapers?
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