10 picks from Vida kids' press day

Introducing Pirouette’s new London contributor Louisa Rowland.

Vida Kids AW19 Press Day was a perfect reflection of our eco-organically aware and concerned times – fully caffeinated tea and sugared biscuits were replaced with Can0 Water and Pink Lady apples and press releases, if not yet on declared recyclable paper, have eschewed plastic covers for pared back old school card and paper. The days of Styrofoam cups, carbonated drinks and branded plastic goodie bags, for good or for bad, have given way to a generation of outward facing producers and consumers who want more from their products and purchases. Like the current generation of supermodels, from Cara to Adwoa to Winnie, it is no longer enough to be beautiful, clothes must be carefully crafted, considered and considerate to sustainability and ethics and have an outward facing view of the world – bref, as the French would say, they need to have a conscience.

The collections showcased at Vida Kids AW19 Press day mirrored this ethos with a minimalist take on the whimsical interpretations of far off worlds and explorations. Banwood’s gloriously coloured Balance Bike set the tone balanced delicately above the entrance fireplace and led me on a journey through the worlds of Bobo Choses’ Alaskan inspired We Cosmos, Velveteen’s Stranger Thing skewed Scouts’ Magical Mystery Tour, Sproet & Sprout’s panoply of nocturnal jungle animals and Noe and Zoe’s Starry Starry Nights.

Pirouette 10 picks

1: The ubiquitous, cats, unicorns and pineapples of yesteryear have been superseded with the romance of the real and the wild, with Sometime Soon showcasing cleanly cut Gucci-esque Tigers in a restrained and modern take on fluo (1), Noe and Zoe the perennial llama, Bobo Choses loveable grizzlies and moose (a truly epic achievement considering the ferocity of either) and Sproet & Sprout celebrating any charming four legged jungle friend yet to receive its own feature length Disney movie.

2: Tutu Du Monde stands alone continually transcending this year’s Next Big Thing with its endless other worldly I-can’t-quite-believe-it’s-real-even-when-I-touch-it-quality. While my daughter and I were never tutu-minded, if she were, when I am faced with the delicacy of the tulle, the sensibility of the colours and the tasteful dispersion of the sequins it is hard not to imagine myself trampling another mother to the ground in order to get my hands on the last tutu in her size on the Harrods rack. AW19’s Circus Inspired collection introduced velvet capelets (2) after the success of their blow-them-and-they’ll-fly gauze capelet predecessors – produced in the softest of dusty pink and a muted rose-y red. When coupled with a Tutu du Monde take on ruffled shorts (2) and matching headband (2) it’s an unashamedly romantic and feminine vision of the modern tomboy – in touch with their rough and tumble, ready to take on the high wire but still picture perfect. If the exquisite capelet is a sequin too far, then the brand’s Sergeant Pepper Inspired jacket (2) presents a less delicate but absolutely never gender neutral option…

3&4: Velveteen’s AW19 had much to delight. A collection underpinned by Americana x The 80s Casual (an epoch I remain unable to move on from) X The Royal Tenenbaums and Stranger Things can in itself only be a cause for great celebration however I was also incredibly impressed and excited by the softness of the unisex knits (3). I may well, for the first time in his 11 year old history, have discovered a knit that my son will love to wear and that we will both be happy to look at, a feat that has proved shockingly challenging to date. While there were many other things to love at Velveteen, I fell hard and deep for the most delicate ruffle necked gold flecked blouse with puffed sleeves that was perfumed with gentle and sophisticated sensibility (4) – my only complaint is that it does not come in my size as I would wear it most days the very way it is styled in Velveteen’s AW19 press release, with cropped dungarees and trainers.

5&6: Downstairs 1+ in the Family’s muted, in-exemplary-taste-only baby and toddler wear, followed the beat of their own animal drum with soft loveable rabbit eared baby grows (5) that evoked a sentimentality previously unseen in any and all animal ear attached babywear and made you long for a newborn to smother in kisses as well as a minimalistic muted take on animal print that has been a long time coming (6).

7,8,9&10: Lastly, and with a final nod to some exceptional prints at Mini Stitches that evoked the Marni of yore (7), Bobo Choses’ We Cosmos’ celebration of our planet echoed the best of a sustainable eco-friendly functional brand such as Patagonia while channelling the spirit and style of Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom. The snowboots, a long overlooked gap in the childrenswear market, were functionally show-stopping (7) but my heart lay with an updated version of the Goop favourite a modern, printed shearling lined non-Birkenstock Birkenstock (8) open sandal – worn with ankle socks, a 70s cord knee-length skirt (9), felt-y green shirt (9) shearling lined fishing and hunting hat (10), glasses and gap toothed smile, there is Nothing Not to Love Here. An Explorer’s World is Our Oyster.

Editors Notes: Wonderful collections Louisa, welcome onboard!

More reading…

Banwood #pirouette12watch winner interview

Mini Stitches #pirouette12watch interview

Velveteen Parent & Child interview 

The nature of business: Bobo Choses