With her unique voice and style, Gwen Stefani has established herself as both a pop and fashion icon.
During her trips to Japan, the No Doubt singer became enamored with Japan's colorful Harajuku girls. They served as the inspiration for her 2004 "Love. Angel. Music. Baby" solo album and L.A.M.B fashion line, which grew into the consumer-friendly brand Harajuku Lovers.
Stefani is back in the fashion game, and this time she's taking on kidswear! The singer-turned-designer and Target have paired up to create an eccentric and colorful clothing line named “Harajuku Mini for Target,” in stores now. Signature items from the line include skinny jeans and plaid pants for boys, to cute logo tees and dresses for girls.
Click “Launch Gallery” below to see the unique collection!
“It's an amazing feeling when you have creative freedom, and with this Target just told me to run with it and see what happened,” Stefani told toofab.
As exciting as the new line was for the 42-year-old, it was also a challenge. Aside from the early stages of L.A.M.B, Stefani hadn't worked much with men's or boys fashion.
“It is much harder designing for boys, especially when they are 4 or 5 and start to like certain characters and want to dress like them. You have to take that into consideration,” said Stefani. Fortunately, she had two sources of inspiration: her sons Kingston and Zuma.
Kingston exemplifies the mix and match nature of Harajuku Mini. “I choose what's in the closet, but he chooses what he wears. Sometimes he comes out wearing the most amazing collaboration and I just look at him and say 'wow',” Stefani says of her eldest son.
Brian Robinson, the Director of Design Partnerships at Target, agrees. “The whole collection mix and matches and that is what creates confidence for the brand. A kid can put anything on and feel fantastic about it."
Gwen debuted her line to some of her famous friends and their kids at a private preview on Saturday. Jim Henson's studio was transformed into the Harajuku district complete with sushi bar, graffiti wall and of course, a catwalk. Famous faces such as Robin Thicke, Brooke Burke, Selma Blair and Maya Rudolph cheered on the child models as they strutted down the runway.
Gwen is obviously a fan of her own line; she was even caught shopping for Harajuku Mini at Target on Sunday!
How do you think Gwen did on the collection? Tell TooFab in the comments below!
