by Melissa, owner and creative director of Little Skye

I thought you all might enjoy a behind the scenes look at the inspiration for the new fall Oilily collection. It is always fun to learn what inspires designers and how they build a collection, and since I have the true pleasure hearing about the collections from the Oilily family in Holland, wanted to share with you.

Oilily’s new “Heart for Art” winter collection is an ode to the visual arts. Artists themselves in every sense of the word, the designers of Oilily want to inspire and stimulate creativity in kids all over the world. A striking color palate and intricate, unique prints that only Oilily can imagine bring winter to life.

This season, they mixed natural shades like beige and grey into the collection, particularly with the vintage-inspired, picturesque photo prints. Each season, the Oilily design team creates an inspiration book, which is in itself is always one of the most beautiful pieces of art I’ve ever seen. The book contains snippets of patterns, colors, images, and drawings that once put together inspire the creation of the new collection.

This season, the Oilily designers were inspired by their own family art treasures. The winter scene prints were created from their collection of old post cards:

The matchbox print was inspired by their collection of old stamps:

And the print on this coat reflects their collection of vintage toys:

Speaking of coats, this winter Oilily brings us for the first time a series of light feather down outerwear. Many of them are completely reversible, and are designed in the bold colors of the collection, making them striking against the starkness of winter.

In keeping with the Heart for Art theme, there are also whimsical hand-drawn prints including a graphic “Marais” print and a colorful “messy dot” print. In true Oilily style, mix these patterns with ultra-colorful fairisle knee highs or tights and printed tees.

For future artists, you will also find cardigans that say “My Self Portrait” and that have paint brushes appearing to stick out of the pockets:

Oilily truly is inspirational children’s clothing. They have been innovating and setting trends since 1963 with their true love and understanding of kids.

My daughter Evie chose an Oilily outfit for her first day of Kindergarten because “it is fun and happy and has all my favorite colors and I love painting.” She will also be carrying this adorable Oilily backpack, with the color-it-yourself pencil case inside.

If you are looking for clothing that is as unique as your child is, Oilily has something for you and will always make them stand out in the crowd.

You can shop the full new Oilily clothing collection at our website, Little Skye Children’s Boutique.