Loro Piana, the Italian luxury company behind those $1,500 New Balance “dad shoes,” announced its first-ever stroller late in November. The ultra-luxe baby carriage is decked out to match typical Loro Piana standards: water-repellent linen, buttery leather trim, and panels of Loro Piana’s Suitcase Stripes to achieve the ideal quiet luxury flex.
Loro Piana’s outrageously opulent stroller was made in collaboration with Inglesina, a 60-year-old Italian childcare brand that quietly dominates the luxury baby goods market, especially when it comes to crafting strollers for world-famous fashion houses.
Seriously, Inglesina’s relationship with luxury labels is quite impressive, even spanning competing fashion conglomerates. Inglesina previously envisioned strollers for Dior, Fendi, and Gucci, flagship labels of LVMH and Kering.
This partnership with Loro Piana, the epitome of understated elegance, really establishes Inglesina (if it wasn’t already) as the quiet titan of luxury baby strollers.
It’s not clear what exactly Inglesina offers that makes its product so much more appealing than other top-tier stroller brands like Orbit Baby, maker of a four-figure rotating pram, and UPPAbaby, which averages upwards of $600 for base models.
Maybe it’s the heritage, maybe it’s the fact that Inglesina makes it’s strollers in Italy, or maybe it’s simply the fact that Inglesina simply has become this go-to name in luxury baby strollers, with an unimpeachable resume.
Premium strollers may seem an unusual luxury indulgence compared to a Dior skate shoes or a Gucci bag. For one, they offer utility in carrying children. But these devices also have a brief lifespan, only being truly useful for infants and kids a few years of age.
But that specificity, if anything, enhances their appeal. What greater show of good taste is there than a short-lived statement stroller?
The market for specialized, flex-worthy strollers is surprisingly expansive. Streetwear designers like Verdy and BAPE have created their own patterned carriages, for instance, demonstrating that demand for head-turning strollers exists at all price points.
Because, speaking of price points, these things ain’t cheap.
An ordinary Inglesina stroller, for comparison, retailers for upwards of $600 on the brand’s website (there is also a more affordable $300 version).
Meanwhile, BAPE’s AIRBUGGY stroller was priced at $1,200 upon release. And then, there’s the Inglesina luxury-tier offerings, which range from nearly $4,000 (Fendi) to $7,700 for a Gucci bassinet-stroller combo.
And that’s only the start. Kylie Jenner, whose first-born child casually cruised in a fluffy Fendi pram, has been spotted pushing a custom Chrome Hearts stroller for second child, Aire. Though presumably given as a gift, a Chrome Hearts would likely weigh in around five figures.
The crossover between luxury fashion and premium baby accessories makes sense, really.
Although two separate markets, both have the same tastes for the crème de la crème — you only want the best for baby, right? And if you have the means, well, might as well make it an Inglesina.
And for the little one, well, these high-end strollers are really just a beautiful, luxurious flex to stunt in at the playground.