Function, comfort, quality, and fun

Children as young as 3 years old are now starting to choose the clothes they want to wear. Their sense of what is nice – and smart – is clear cut. Awareness is high and they have firm ideas about what they don’t want to wear. By the time they are 6 years of age, children are really in the driving seat concerning what should be bought. Mother is sidelined regarding selection and is limited to the role of she who pays.

“This shopping pattern makes children a very important consumer group,” says director Steen Fogh Rasmussen who heads Kabooki, a company which produces the children’s clothes brand LEGO WEAR under licence. “Success depends on having clothes which are designed to match children’s requirements for imagination and functionality. Regarding parental requirements, we think about quality and safety.”

LIFESTYLE:

Proportionally more children play with LEGO in Denmark than in any other country. Quality toys help to create quality children through development of creativity and independence. A Danish fashion group has therefore decided to create its own children’s clothes universe based on LEGO’s values. LEGO WEAR is children’s clothes where only the best is good enough.

LEGO products have been loved by children for generations. During the 1960s and 1970s LEGO became a global brand, and today is one of the best known names for families with children all over the world. So when one of Scandinavia’s largest fashion and textile companies, Brandtex, decided to produce children’s clothes in 1993, it was obvious to tie LEGO’s quality image and values to their range.

“Just like LEGO toys are timeless and associated with creativity and development of children’s independence, LEGO WEAR is an expression of fun, function, comfort and quality,” says Fogh Rasmussen. “The four keywords fulfil the wishes of children, as well as parents’ demands for good children’s clothing.”

LEGO WEAR closely follows LEGO’s development of toys. When LEGO chooses new toy ranges, they are shown to Kabooki in good time so that Kabooki can launch new collections to coincide with the introduction of the toys.

“But it is our choice,” says Fogh Rasmussen. “We are an independent company with no other affiliation to LEGO than the licence to use LEGO’s logo and their toy universe. However it also creates great expectations regarding quality and expression among consumers, which we have to live up to. Just like the toys, LEGO WEAR is clothes where only the best is good enough. Children play better when they are in safe surroundings, and safe surroundings also include clothing. LEGO WEAR has been designed on children’s terms, which means that the clothes must have a fit that doesn’t limit the child’s ability to play. The clothes are colourful with plenty of features and decorations, and elements from the toys which stimulate children’s imaginations.”

LEGO WEAR is sold in 36 franchise shops, 40 shop-in-shops and by more than 800 retailers world-wide. The clothes are made for three segments: baby, toddler and kids. http://www.lego.com/wear