When a fashion designer announces that he's downsizing, it usually means business isn't exactly booming. Not so for Marc Jacobs. Inspired—and urged on—by friends and colleagues who have had babies, Jacobs has introduced a line of luxe toddlers' and children's clothes destined to score high with the fashionista parents who covet his full-size creations. The tightly edited Little Marc collection consists of mini versions of the waffle-weave cashmere thermals that have been mainstays of Jacobs's men's and women's collections for almost a decade. "Suddenly, there were a lot of children in our offices," Jacobs says. "We thought, Wouldn't it be nice to do cashmere pieces for kids? Thermals are so standard, and the idea of taking something banal and elevating it to a luxurious level is always great."
Jacobs explains that the pieces—pint-size hoodies, cardigans, crew-neck tops, and long johns that come in white, pink, gray, and blue cashmere—have not only cachet but comfort, plain and simple. "Children, like adults, want something soft next to their skin as opposed to something scratchy," he says.
Robert Duffy, the president of Marc Jacobs, views the line as practical, not extravagant. "I never think of cashmere as precious; I wash mine all the time," he says, adding that small, thoughtful details distinguish the pieces from their grown-up counterparts. "We used snaps instead of buttons, and the pants are pull-up."
Next Page: "I don't think there's anything wrong with giving a young kid a taste of the finer things in life."
