Viktoria & Woods founder and creative director Margie Woods discusses the launch of the kidswear.
Why did V&W want to extend into kidswear?
For years now we have been designing bespoke pieces for friends and family of the brand as gifts.
From personalised Melbourne knitted merino blankets, to Woods onesies, and little Woods tees.
Most of my staff now have kids, and my own kids, who are 12 and 15 have also inspired me.
More and more I am sharing my clothing with my children and nieces, including my son Harper.
So, it really has felt very organic to release a small extension of our unisex collection to align with these brand moments and the next generation of the Woods community.
Describe the design process behind the tees
The unisex kids tee is an extension of our best selling Woods unisex tee.
It’s a relaxed, oversized silhouette that should last for years.
It is made from GOTS certified organic cotton and is made in Australia.
It supports our values as not only a predominantly Australian made brand, but also our commitment to sustainability and textiles that planet friendly.
I know that my children are very proud that we use planet friendly textiles, and this was an important priority for us when releasing our first kids release.
What has been the customer reaction to the tees?
In our first two weeks we had a 19% sell through, with very little marketing behind it.
So that was an incredible reaction, and one we really did not expect.
We aligned it with our fathers day edit, which included adult versions of the tee amongst other items.
What are your plans for this category moving forward?
At the moment, we are taking a very organic approach to this category.
We may release new colours and align with causes that are important to the brand such as Earth Day and Oceans Day.
The tee is a core style, so we feel that small tweaks, new colours will be sufficient, as we continue to focus on our main lines and the idea that our clothing can be shared across generations.
What challenges did you encounter while rolling out this new category? How did you overcome them?
Our approach to new categories is that it should always feel organic and aligned with our brand values.
We are very much a lifestyle designer brand, and if it feels natural, there are less challenges.