Last week, I went up to have a look at the AW 2014 collections at Bubble London. Bubble London presents over 280 brands of children’s fashion, accesories, gifts and homewares. To be honest, when I arrived and saw a vast away of fabulous kiddies clothes, I got quite excited!
However, as I walked around and spoke to people, my overall feeling was how much great home-grown talent we have. In addition to this, these were people who had a story to tell and their brands and clothes line had grown out of personal passion and also the needs of their children. Here, I tell a few of their stories.
Raspberry Plum
The founder of this brand is Aleksandra Stasic, born in Serbia, but has lived in the UK since she was 12. Her motive for creating her girls clothing range was to provide practical clothes that girls can play and get messy in but still look chic. Shouldn’t this be a mantra for life?! Additionally, Aleksandra has taken inspiration from 1940s and 1950s, which you can see in the silhouette of the clothes, and the colour palette is taken from toys from the 1940s.
This collection is indeed chic, and Aleksandra is showing real promise as she won the Rising Star prize at Bubble. Good luck Raspberry Plum – I really thought these clothes were great for everyday, but also did indeed look beautiful. For more information on the clothing please see their website.
Holly & Beau
This brand is the brainchild of a brother and sister from Norfolk. Their range is a collection of coats, swimwear and umbrellas – with a twist! When the products come into contact with water, they change colour!
After a particularly wet summer (they hail from Norfolk, no stranger to the inclement weather) the siblings noticed how dull children’s rainwear was. Furthermore, they’d seen the success of pullups that also changed colour, they decided to add that technology to rainwear and voila! A raincoat range! At prices for a raincoat from £42.99, these coats can compete with popular mailorder and high street companies. The patterns are quirky and interesting and give a nice fashionable edge to practical clothing.
For more information on Holly&Beau, please see their website.
Long Wave
A problem I have year in and year out on the beach is getting my (very fair) daughter to cover up on the beach. We have found most of the sunsuits are very much aimed at the toddler / pre school market. Two mums from South West London also found the same problem, therefore they decided to design their own range. The girls comes with a matching bikini, so easy to swap and change, and the boys is funky and comfortable. All the range is 50+ UV rated and it is all designed and made in England.
For more information, please visit their website
Lucy Peach Slices
My last selection is this quirky little range. This was probably my favourite story from Bubble. A busy mum of three, found a passion for sewing and creating clothes. After producing some wonderful individual pieces, friends encouraged her she should do this professionally. With no prior experience in retail or design she immersed herself into the world of fashion and she is now here with a stunning range for girls. One bit I really like about the range, is that all the designs are taken from family photos. The below dress is a mixture of a picture of the owner’s front path and an image of the Vatican!
For more information please see the website
Congratulations to all four of these British companies, for not only providing us with some fabulous clothing ranges, but also for having an idea and being inspired enough to bring it to market.
