Heads up millennial moms, your little ones are about to be Bets-ified.
Betsey Johnson, to be clear. The wildly eclectic designer is making cheetah leggings, sparkly tutus, plush puffer vests and letterman jackets all for her three and under consumers. She’s bringing her crazed, rock n’ roll style to your like tikes as a part of her latest partnership with Babies R’ Us.
Now how did the queen of the runway split attract the bibs and babies brand? The art of cold calling. Laura Bennison, vice president and divisional merchandising manager of apparel at Babies R’ Us, tells WWD she received a “cold call from Betsey who introduced us to the brand. Once we viewed the line we were pleasantly surprised. We think of Betsey as a true iconic trendsetter. You can translate the trends in a fun, colorful way for babies.”
Betsey’s personal vibrant wardrobe is truly meant for a kid at heart. So, this venture into the infant world should come as no surprise and according to Johnson, “It’s some crazy dream, I had. I established my look with big girls, then did seven and up. Kids love it and parents are buying it.”
When talking about her pre-teen apparel, which features the same colorful prints and cheetah leggings of her adult collection, Betsey admits to her style’s Peter Pan syndrome, “The rainbows and flowers. It wasn’t meant to grow up.”
This new line for infants and toddlers debuted last week in approximately 900 Babies R’ Us stores nationwide with retail prices ranging from $24.99 to $39.99. The collection is expected to hit the store’s online outlets this week.
Bennison is positive that Betsey’s social media campaigns and exclusive fashion show for the collection will garner the appropriate attention to their latest collaboration. With regards to the actual style of the collection, Bennison tells WWD, “It focuses on the better range of our assortment. We think it will appeal to the Millennial mom and younger customers.”
If all goes well and the collection is a rock n’ roll hit, perhaps we could be seeing a line of diaper bags, so moms can match their cheetah chic toddlers.
As Betsey continues to assert her never-grow-up mentality, we await anxiously to see where Johnson’s high-top sneaks take her.
