A for Armani, J for Junior

The passage of global luxury brands to India remains undeterred, never mind the economy. Armani Junior is perhaps one of the more ambitious recent ventures as it seeks to build a new clientele in India's retail market. Your junior can now be an Armani girl or boy from the moment he or she opens his eyes to the material world. A 2,000 sq ft flagship store, billed as one of the largest Armani Junior stores in the world and the second largest in Asia (next only to China), opened its glass doors 10 days ago at the DLF Emporio Mall in Delhi.

Brought in by veteran designer Suneet Varma's company, Unique Eye Luxury Apparel, it will showcase collections for boys and girls from 0 to 16 years old. From basic kiddie stuff such as shirts, sweatshirts, jeans and chinos (as well as cutesy stuff complete with feeding bottles in baby cases) to formal suits with ties for boys, and dresses for little women, the store is a playground of temptations priced Rs 5,000 onward. The hero of the moment is a limited edition Armani kurta (for boys above six months, price Rs 6,500-7,500) created especially for the India store. An enthusiastic Varma, who had researched the niche segment of kidswear in India before digging his heels into this venture, explains how the store will compile a database of their customers to know about their favourite co-curricular activities. Besides haute shopping, a special corner in the store — presided over, at the moment, by a large stuffed toy — has been marked for art-and-cultural workshops for kids to be conducted by a mentor who pays personal attention to each aspirant Armani kid.

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