As heiress to the Missoni fashion house, it comes as no surprise that Margherita Missoni followed in the footsteps of her parents and grandparents by becoming a fashion designer. Having worked for the family business for a number of years, becoming a mother provided a catalyst for Margherita to branch out on her own, launching a childrenswear line – Margherita Kids.
Ahead of the launch of the "eclectic" and colourful collection on JohnLewis.com, we caught up with Margherita to find out what we can expect from her new venture…
Why did you want to launch your Margherita Kids collection with John Lewis?
John Lewis is the best partner we could have dreamt of when we were analysing the market to see who would be the best option for us to launch in the UK. We immediately thought of John Lewis and are very excited that they agreed to launch the brand this season exclusively in the UK.
What made you want to design a childrenswear collection? I imagine that having kids was an important factor?
Having kids myself was the main factor that made me decide to quit my previous job at Missoni and find a new occupation for myself that would allow me to be in control for my time, schedule, and work routine. I wanted to be able to work from home and spend time daily with my kids. When I had babies I started learning about childrenswear and realised that there was a space in the market unlike with adults and decided to look for a partner and start my own collection.
How would you describe the Margherita Kids collection and what inspired the designs?
The F/W16 collection is, as always, a mix of eclectic, colourful, textural pieces with more classical childrenswear designs such as fabric materials and sweet colors and shapes. Margherita means daisy in Italian so there were always be a lot of daisy references in prints, colors, embellishments, and so on. This specific season we brought in a bit of Japan influences into the collection with shapes like kimono sleeves and padded jackets and geisha prints.
What are your favourite pieces from the collection and why?
My favourite piece from the F/W 16 collection is the pompom jumper because it really reflects my aesthetic in the way the colours are mixed together in a subtle colour blocked way. It's about the details, but not in your face.
Here in the UK mothers are often inspired the Duchess of Cambridge and what she dresses her children in. What do you think of her traditional style?
I like that very classic take on childrenswear. In my own children's wardrobe, and in my own collection, classic styles are mixed with unexpected, ethnic and eclectic pieces. I never like anything that is too literal and referential - I like a lot of that classic children's wardrobe when it's mixed with contrast pieces.
The Margherita Kids collection is available on JohnLewis.com now.
