I’m sure you remember, earlier this year, when Kim Kardashian attended husband, Kanye West’s fashion show with their unhappy toddler North West. Kim, seated next to Anna Wintour, felt the pressure of both a squirming fashion show audience and her own squirming toddler. It seemed all corners of the Internet asked “Who brings their kid to a fashion show?” Well, I did, twice. And I’d do it again. In fact, I brought three children to a fashion show! My family had the pleasure of being invited to Kids Fashion Week by Tiziana Indelicato, founder of petitePARADE. Since 2010, this bi-annual event has showcased fashion and products for toddlers to teens. I attended their recent show at Spring Studio with my three children ages 4, 8, and 11 and discovered Kids Fashion Week really is a fashion show “even a kid could like.”
If you have never been to a fashion show, it can be a bit intimidating at first. There’s a lot of commotion, often limited seating and you must be on the list. We got there just before the lights dimmed. A gleeful crew of kids wearing Marin + Morgan’s fun popsicle prints strutted out to the beat of “Uptown Funk” and the audience went wild. The exuberance of the audience made it clear petitePARADE was a fashion community; not the staid aesthetes, like Anna Wintour, that one imagines. When the business is about kids, I often find the people surrounding the work soften, as well. The young models of petitePARADE have an enthusiastic and supportive community coming down that runway.
How did my kids react to the show? My son, who I knew was going to be the biggest obstacle, sat on the floor playing Fruit Ninjas and Diamond Dash on my phone. That suited him just fine. I spotted many children spending downtime between designers this way. My daughters, however, were excited to be there. They were surrounded by some of the best-dressed kids I’ve ever seen! My 4 year old little lady immediately wanted her own lacy Olvi’s gown, while my 8 year old tween preferred a lime green Laer jacket. I’d have taken one too!
Tiziana, having 2 kids herself, knew just what kinds of activities to provide to fill the downtime between shows. She provided the perfect thing to do with those funny faces kids make when they’re bored. A photo booth! My girls always love a good photo booth. Who doesn’t like making funny faces? And this one emailed the photo strip to you!
Next, the girls hit the craft table provided by LittleMissMatched to participate in Project Sock. They designed their very own socks for entry into the LittleMissMatched online competition, where the company will award the winning sock designer $500 and 10 packs of their own designed socks! My kids have always loved LittleMissMatched, as they have never worn two socks that match anyway; so they were thrilled to participate in this contest.
The activities were such a blast, the downtime evaporated so quickly it was already time to return to the runway for the Jessica Simpson Lifestyle Collection. The runway space was red and orange balloons galore, and the girls of course wanted one. They’d have to wait until after Jessica Simpson and the dance party to get one though. What dance party? Yep, that’s right. A New Balance dance party where a 9 year old named DJ Alden of CirKidz spun; WAFFLE NYC subway dancers taught kids the latest moves; and New Balance Kids provided each mover and shaker with the latest technicolor footwear in which to party. I knew the kids would have a great time at petitePARADE!
As soon as the models and designers left the stage to applause, all the kids in the audience got their chance to shake it on stage in their New Balance sneakers. Parents took their children’s photos and I followed suit only to become engulfed in a herd of professional photographers taking my kids’ photos. I literally had to crawl out of the crowd, where I found Tiziana again. She laughed, “Everyone’s famous today!” So true. I even became suspicious that my son was enjoying himself. I asked him about it later. He said, “I kind of felt special.”
So, can you bring your kids to a fashion show? Well, I did.
Tell us your unconventional family friendly adventures. Tweet them @momtropolis #ibroughtthekids?
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