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 As Britain's Prince Harry and his American wife Meghan Markle
prepare to welcome their first child, there is no shortage of
high end brands they can turn to for nursery furniture, baby
clothing and plenty of toys.
Personalized cots, cashmere cardigans and traditional rocking
horses are among luxury items on offer for youngsters, with an
array of brands seeking to capitalize on affluent parents'
demand for such costly items.
"It's grown into a huge market. It's been hugely helped by the
royals because it gives a lot of these brands an international
platform," said Kate Freud, editor at large of luxury parenting
magazines Baby and Little London.
"You can be looking at anything from a simple cotton baby grow
that's 90 pounds ($117) ... to a Burberry changing bag which is
850 pounds, and beyond. Some of the prices are really
eye-watering but parents are prepared to pay it."
Among those providing luxury baby products is Spanish company
Suommo whose Dodo diamond and pure gold dummy is priced at
100,000 euros ($112,240). An 18-carat gold plated cot costs
60,000 euros. Other firms offer bespoke mattresses, gold high
chairs or silver rattles.
Harry and Meghan, known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have
revealed little during the pregnancy. Meghan told well-wishers
in January she was six months pregnant but the couple did not
know the baby's gender.
British media have reported they have picked neutral colors for
the nursery at their new Frogmore Cottage home in Windsor and
published a picture of a car with pram maker iCandy's logo
arriving at their gates.
Harry's cousin Zara Phillips is an ambassador for iCandy, whose
pushchairs sell for up to 1,500 pounds ($1,956).
BABY FASHION
Like his or her cousins - Prince William's children George,
Charlotte and Louis - baby Sussex will likely be an influencer.
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When the trio have been photographed wearing childrenswear brands
like Rachel Riley, Pepa & Company and Amaia, many parents have
swiftly shopped the same looks.
"I can imagine (Meghan) mixing the traditional brands with a more
contemporary spin," Freud said.
"Whatever she ends up doing, it's going to be a sellout."
The UK childrenswear market is expected to have grown 19 percent to
6.86 billion pounds in 2018 from 2013, according to a report by
market research firm Mintel, which found over a third of parents
think branded clothes were worth paying more for.
At London children's boutique Marie Chantal, embroidered baby grows,
silk chiffon dresses and cashmere knits are on offer, with prices
reaching up to 350 pounds.
"We have royal customers, VIP and celebrity customers from around
the globe," commercial manager Erika Loch said. "We use the finest
cottons, the finest linens and the finest cashmeres."
Many designer labels carry childrenswear ranges, popular with
fashionista parents.
At New York's Bergdorf Goodman luxury department store, baby Gucci
shoes, Dolce & Gabbana dresses and Burberry outfits hang beside a
$500 teddy bear and $6,000 battery powered car. Handmade Mischka
Aoki tulle dresses are priced over $1,000.
"It is as luxurious as you can get," said Andrew Mandell, vice
president of home, jewelry and children at Bergdorf Goodman. "It's
almost couture for children and we start with babies."
(Reporting by Jayson Mansaray and Marie-Louise Gumuchian; additional
reporting by Alicia Powell in New York; Writing by Marie-Louise
Gumuchian; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
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