Backstage at Fendi's Debut Kids' Show: "Who Loves Fendi? Meeee!!!!"

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

Grid View

Expand

• Photo via Fendi
• Gossip Girl's Kelly Rutherford opens the show carrying Helena and guiding a reluctant Hermes down the runway.
• Isabella via Fendi
• Little Scarlett is a trouper. That ruffle-y sleeve is totally pinching her arm, but you'd never know it.
• Guilia, Jemma and Milo
• Photo via Fendi
• Scarlett and Jemma (and mom) pose post-show in their street clothes. Jemma probably didn't want to give up the poncho.
• Mommy can I have this?

The absolute best thing about a children's fashion show? A kid's show is the unprecedented occasion when a runway show actually starts before schedule and ends (shockingly) on time. (We imagine that the temperament of the models in all types of shows are about the same, though.)

That said, the Fendi Children's spring/summer 2011 debut show was a shining example of promptness and raging cuteness. The event, jointly organized by a local mommies-who-lunch event company Divalysscious Moms, also celebrated the US debut of the luxury children's line. The upper level of the Fifth Avenue Fendi Flagship filled up two hours before showtime with eager high-heeled and seriously blinged-out moms (apparently, two ginormous engagement rings—one for each hand, of course—is the new thing), slightly bored looking dads (pecking away at their blackberries), proud grandparents and a few nannies angling for the best front row seats. Buyers, editors, and executives: Good luck getting a spot here. As the crowd waited patiently for the runway show, the parentals noshed on bite-size fancy kid-food and sipped flutes of Veuve Clicquot— absolutely no Prosecco or Sonoma sparkling a Fendi party. It was first class all the way.

During the excitement leading up to the big show, we caught a moment with a few Divalysscious Tots (offspring of the aforementioned moms) who were preparing to walk in the show. We began our hard-hitting interview with the absolutely adorbs sister duo Jemma (age seven) and Scarlett (age nine) by asking what they thought of the Fendi outfits they were going to model in the show.

"I really love mine!", Jemma excitedly exclaimed.

"The arm hurts in mine," Scarlett dejectedly shared.

Jemma then protectively reassures her younger sister, "Well, I mean, it looks so cute on her, so..."

Scarlett piped in, "I don't really care".

As we were about to ask our next question, a Divalysscious Mom interjected with an enthusiastic "Who loves Fendi?!"

A bunch of kids simultaneously scream "MEEEEE!".

Well, with the exception of little killjoy Jackson who jumped into the interview with the bombshell, "I disagree. I don't think I wanna bring my clothes [the Fendi kids ensemble] home and I don't wanna wear it." Maybe he's more of a Gap Kids fan.

Scarlett then further demonstrated the discomfort that her outfit was causing, "It's a shirt and then right there [indicates her upper arm]—it really hurts. It, like, pains." We asked if she told the authoritarian who was fitting her and Scarlett nodded yes. We then pointed out that modeling sometimes involves hardship.

"Yes, even though you don't like what you're wearing, you sort of have to go for it," Jemma concurred. "You just have to wear it."

Nine-year old Elias was soldiering through the discomfort, too. "Well, I don't like it much because I sometimes get cold in those type of shorts. I like more sporty shorts because they're easier to run in."

Thoughtful and conscientious seven-year old Mya was at first apprehensive about her modeling gig.

"Well, I guess about school," Mya tentatively admitted after we asked what wasn't so fun about her fashion-filled afternoon. "Because I did not really want to leave early, but now I'm sort of excited. It seems fun though." Wait, what? You kids were pulled out of school for this event? Interesting. So what did Mya's friends think of this afternoon outing?

"They're all jealous," Mya said with a cute little smile. Yeah, they are.

By the time the show began (ten minutes before the scheduled time, mind you), the upstairs level was packed. Gossip Girl matriarch Kelly Rutherford, looking very Lily Van Der Woodsen-Humphrey in a persimmon-hued Fendi frock, kicked off the show by walking the runway in towering heels and carrying her two children, Hermés and Helena.

Then twenty-some precocious and ridiculously adorable kids walked the runway and you know how it is at a wedding when a parent is coaxing their kid down the aisle and snapping pictures the entire time? Well, it was like that, but times 30. The moms were actually quite considerate of each other though, politely edging their way to the front for their child, but then ceding their spot to the next parent up. There was one camera shy tot and a preciously hilarious wedgie-adjusting session, but for the most part, all the kids really embraced the spotlight and managed the technical turn way better than Zoolander ever could. And let us tell you, little Scarlett was a total pro—you couldn't even tell that pesky pink puff-sleeve elastic armband top was pinching her in the least—and Jemma werked that poncho like it was nobody's business.

The one peril of a children's fashion show? The kids are so distractingly cute, we almost forgot to look at the clothes, which consisted of lots of pastel hues, low-key prints for the boys and Liberty florals for the girls. We took a poll with the kids as to how much they think the clothes will set their doting parents back.

"Well, I think my outfit is $3000," Scarlett emphatically stated.

Jemma was a bit more skeptical, "I'm not exactly sure that's true. I think my poncho that I'm gonna be wearing is $90 and the jeans are....$72 and maybe the shirt is in the $60s." Turns out, Scarlett was on the right track, as her two-piece ensemble totaled $484 ($253 for the uncomfortable top and $231 for the khaki pleated skirt), while Jemma's beloved brown poncho with caramel piping rings up at $395.

Update: It seems that the exhilaration of modeling the pink puff-sleeve shirt did the trick. We hear that Scarlett asked her mom to buy the shirt after all.
· Fendi [Official Site]