Fashion 88 : Colorful Prints in Spring Collections for Stylish Tykes

There was a bouncy, bubbly side to the recent round of spring ’88 collections in Los Angeles: Kids’ clothing.

The pint-size fashions, included for the first time in the annual three-day event held at the California Mart, ran the gamut from miniature T-shirts and surf shorts to adult-inspired leather jackets and skirts.

Esprit’s collection was soft and sweet with an abundance of pastels, stripes, small polka dots, kiddie graphics and simple silhouettes. Jimmy’Z offered more punch in brighter color combinations and black-and-white mixes. And Surf Fetish by Carl Jones included unexpected wood-cut graphics and ethnic-inspired prints.

But it was Baby Boxers, with its three lines (Baby Boxers, Kidd Boxers and B. Boxers), who took ethnic to the nth degree. The collection was notable for rich, culturally diverse patterns--and unexpected drama. For a few moments, it was touch and go whether a little male model, overcome with stage fright, would make it down the runway and back. He did, shoulders scrunched bravely together, in an oversize print jacket and matching pants.

He was followed by two little girls, obviously old hands at modeling, who whirled and twirled. One wore a dress, the other a shorts outfit, made from sugar-and-spice “provincial” print fabrics.

M. Julian for Kids offered more adult fare, including a black motorcycle jacket and a nearly all-leather letterman jacket. Also on the grown-up side was Fire Kids’ preteen ensemble: a red jacket and pants topped with a matching red duster.

And because spring wouldn’t be spring without a nautical twist, kids got that too--from Motion Pictures by Rafael Montelegre, who showed a number of navy-and-white and red-and-white combinations. The most outstanding was a white trapeze-shaped top worn over cheerful red-and-white striped leggings.