Fall ’16 keeps kids humble with motivating missions and down-to-earth designs.
Feeling The Blues
By leveraging the best practices and product expertise from her own family history of designing and manufacturing for world-renowned brands, Blu & Blue Founder Aaina Jain unites quality denim clothing with elevated style for kids. “At Blu & Blue we are passionate and committed to using our product and fabric expertise toward our innovative, eco-friendly and sustainable new venture,” Jain explains. With fabrics hand-selected from the best mills in the world, Blu & Blue only settles for the highest quality denim materials such as Tencel fabrics, cotton denims and chambrays. Exclusively using mercerized denims, the brand ensures each garment its signature soft quality. In addition, all hardware is nickel-free, making each garment 100 percent baby-friendly. With a debut at Children’s Club in March, the FW ’16 collection contains everything from delicate rompers and detailed dresses to playful skirts and stately jackets. Available in sizes newborn to 5T, wholesale prices range from $15 to $35. www.bluandblue.com
Heroic Swag
It’s a bird, it’s a plane—No, it’s Hero New York! The USA-made children’s backpack brand swooped into February’s edition of Playtime New York with impressive designs and even more impressive morals. The ethically-inclined brand is partnering with High School of Fashion Industries to host workshops, contribute to scholarship funding and help with fabric donation. The brand also will design a limited-edition backpack where five percent of proceeds go to Solving Kids’ Cancer. Standard offerings include colorful yet gender-neutral backpacks and pencil cases. Wholesale prices range from $11 to $47. www.herobackpacks.com
Ruff Life
Nine-year-old Kayla Ogunsemore was tired of getting turned away at volunteer animal rescues because of her young age. But she quickly reformed her frustration into positive action by creating Brown Sugar Kids (with a little help from Dad). Her growing collection of T-shirts, made from super soft, lightweight, moisture-wicking fabric, contains original photos of four-legged friends Ogunsemore has met during her nascent journey in fashion. All tees wholesale for $15, available from XS to XL in both children and adult sizes. Ten percent of the brand’s proceeds go to animal rescues, with Ogunsemore working toward finding corporate sponsors to match their donations and double the love. www.brownsugarkids.com
Printed Play
Conversational prints with a “too-cool-to-care spirit” define the hip kids’ brand Calibeth. “The brand has a very laidback, tomboy vibe inspired by my childhood,” says Designer Callen Hoss. Calibeth’s space-themed fall collection uses original prints spanning illustrations of moon phases to falling stars. Loose-fitting silhouettes in muted colors like Nova Nude to Ultraviolet make the collection easy to mix and match, with several unisex options. “If your five-year-old has decided she no longer needs help picking out clothes, she can grab one of our tops and bottoms and create her own Calibeth collage,” explains Hoss. Available in kids’ sizes 2 to 6, wholesale prices range from $19 to $34. www.calibeth.com
Kid-Approved
How do you achieve a sucessful product? Go straight to your toughest critics. Wool Candy Berlin’s founders Carola Koerner and Stephanie Raatz have every new style tested by kids before being manufactured. After no luck finding high-quality organic knitwear manufactured in Europe, the mother-daughter duo decided to create a brand reflective of their environmentally-conscious and sustainable work ethic. Winter styles are crafted from 100-percent organic wool while all summer styles come from 100-percent organic cotton. With its U.S. debut at the February edition of Playtime New York, the brand showcased a fall collection of bright colors including cobalt blue and emerald green. All styles, from cardigans to dresses, can be combined with quality matching scarves. Sizes range from 4 to 12 for boys and girls, wholesaling from $18 to $120. www.woolcandy.berlin
Yin and Yang
Capitalizing on a desert-meets-ocean vibe that blends its Southern California surroundings with Co-Founder Mali’s upbringing in the Middle East, kids’ brand Malu Organic offers a collection of breezy garments made from organic cotton. “Aside from the sustainable practices we employ at every level, from design to marketing, we are committed to sharing a portion of our profits,” says husband and Co-Founder Kalen Allmandinger. The brand donates one percent of its profits to charities that share its commitment to the environment and the community. During its debut at Playtime New York in February, Malu Organic showcased its fall collection inspired by frontier life, from hemp blouses to organic cotton harem pants. Available in sizes newborn to 8 years, the line wholesales from $20 to $50. www.maluorganic.com
Top It Off
Every little prince and princess will adore Wyatt Rose’s posh headwear designs that complement everything from peacoat to puffer. Created from incredibly soft lambswool and alpaca blends, children can be both stylish and warm during those crisp back-to-school mornings. “We specialize in designs featuring bows for girls and the influence of the European aesthetic,” says Founder Andrea Anderson. The Fall ’16 collection is comprised of dusty hues: light purples, mints and heather gray. Offerings include classic silhouettes, berets and one Peruvian design. Branded with bows and multi-pompom embellishments, Anderson notes how “the goal is to have fun with design and color while still allowing any style to pair with a child’s posh apparel.” Wyatt Rose officially made its debut at Playtime New York in February. Available in sizes newborn to 6 years, wholesale prices range from $15 to $20. www.wyattrose.net
Beautiful Belles
What do you get when you fuse the festive flamboyance of African Ankara prints with demure Western designs? Meet Shells Belles Kidz. By taking the original cotton Ankara print to more luxurious and quality silk, chiffon and sequin fabrics, Founder Shells Naija designs eccentric kids’ apparel, creatively tailored to the Western party and preppy look. “Our Fall ’16 collection merges the hallmark colorful vibrancy of the African Ankara print with the multiple view formation created by a kaleidoscope,” Naija explains. The line weaves the earthy tones of fall with the vivacity of the vibrant African print across dresses, skirts and tops. Available in girls’ sizes 2 to 10, wholesale prices remain negotiable. www.shellsbelleskidz.com
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