PARIS — Soon, precocious little Hudson will be able to dress just like his godfather.
Karl Lagerfeld, whose godson Hudson Kroenig has walked the Chanel runway several times and appears in the French brand’s cruise advertising, is to launch a signature kids’ wear collection for spring 2016 retailing, having signed a global license agreement with France’s Groupe CWF.
Lagerfeld’s rock ’n’ roll-inspired fashions are to be offered for boys and girls from newborn up to 16 years old, along with a range of accessories. The partners plan to introduce two seasonal collections a year.
Pier Paolo Righi, president and chief executive officer of Karl Lagerfeld, called the brand’s expansion into the juniors market “a natural fit” given the company’s “cool, ironic” personality, and said Groupe CWF would “leverage their expertise and experience.”
Europe, the Middle East and Korea are among key markets for the launch, he noted.
CWF, an acronym for Children Worldwide Fashion, bills itself as having the largest design studio dedicated to kids’ fashions in Europe, and more than 50 years of experience in manufacturing and distributing collections.
The company ships more than 6 million items a year to some 2,300 shops in 74 countries, including 280 department stores. Annual revenues total about 160 million euros, or $181.2 million at current exchange rates.
Besides Lagerfeld, CWF has seven other brands under license — Burberry, Chloé, DKNY, Boss, Lee, Little Marc Jacobs and Timberland — and the in-house brands Billieblush, Billybandit and Carrément Beau.
Lagerfeld relaunched his signature brand in 2012, and began rolling out a network of sleek black-and-white boutiques concentrated in European capitals and Chinese cities. The brand also recently added new signature fragrances with licensee Inter Parfums.