It seemed like only a matter of time before (one of my all time favorite designers/inspirations) Ms. Stella McCartney took her name from the household, the gym, to the playroom. Having done two collections for Gap Kids and Baby Gap last year (I couldn't resist posting some photos from the SS2010 lookbook below) her own Stella McCartney Kids collection (clothing for ages 0-12) will finally be available Nov. 3rd and Vogue.com just posted pics of looks of yellow-wellie-clad darlings donning all the looks on their site. (I've posted a few of my favorites below)
As I have already mentioned, I have been inspired and influenced, and to be honest, somewhat enamored with Stella since I first realized I wanted to be a designer myself. It still surprises me when I hear people say (very naively) that she is only successful because of her name and her money (she's Paul McCartney's daughter). Initially? Perhaps. Perhaps she may not have had the money, the contacts, or the resources to put on a runway show when she first started out. However, she took the opportunities she was given (i.e. Creative Director at Chloe from '97-'01) and almost immediately made a name for herself as one of the most loved and respected womenswear designers today. What is particularly impressive about Stella is that time and time again, she presents a collection that could literally be worn right off the runway. She knows exactly what women want to look and feel like, yet somehow manages to create pieces that are at once modern yet look like they exist without a time period, trend, or any sort of context.
Taking what she has done for Adidas as an example, it's clear that Stella isn't simply expanding her market simply for the sake of doing so (like some other designers/celebrities out there who seem obsessed with splattering their name everywhere) she has waited an ample amount of time, and being that she has three children of her own, I'm sure childrenswear seemed like the next natural move. Her easy, not overly-designed, modern and always slightly quirky aesthetic translates so perfectly to children's clothing and the result is just spot on. The clothes are playful but smart, rather than tacky or too doll-like (as I think kids clothes can often be). The pops of color and cool graphics/patterns also keep them young, but the carefully placed details remind you that it is also, carefully designed.
I guess what intrigues me most about this collection and the shift towards more "designer" childrenswear is how drastically different the look is from when I was even a kid (that's only 20 years ago). It really makes me wish I was even half as cool-looking as these kids, or at least had clothing half as cool, when I was that young. Oh, and the little video on the homepage of the Stella McCartney Kids website features an adorable bunch of dancing finger-painting kids running around to a song repeating the words "I eat doughnuts man, I eat doughnuts!". Could you get any cooler than that?
every one of these pieces if they came in my size. Yup, even the striped onesie)
All Stella Kids images from Vouge.co.uk.
All Stella for Gap images from nitrolicous.com
