Child's play

When adults take fashion-consciousness to another level, why should kids be left behind? Taking a cue from this logic, sisters Neelakshi and Oiendrila launched a kidswear label that not just makes available trendy clothes for the little ones but also focuses on comfort.

"We found a void in the market for well-designed children's clothing in India, and decided to put our design expertise together for Nee & Oink. We come from a creative background in design, and so felt this area would be our key focus," emphasises Oiendrila.

The label that targets kids between 1 to 10 years, uses organic fabrics, which are suitable for children. Oiendrila stresses that while comfort is foremost on their minds in the design stage, they don't skimp on the style factor.

Designs from Nee & Oink's kidswear collection

"There is no reason why a comfortable garment cannot be designed beautifully," she reiterates, adding, "Our little ones' comfort is the most important thing on our minds. We use organic fabrics and dyes that are skin-friendly and not harmful for our children. In our first collection, we have revived hand embroidered cutwork and smocking, which appears to be a dying art. Our prints are also developed in-house."

The label is currently available at a couple of city stores since Neelakshi and Oiendrila are not interested in a full-fledged store just yet.

"There is no current plan to open our own store, since we've been fortunate with several strong retail partners. We got a wonderful response in Mumbai after our launch a couple of months ago. By the end of the year, we intend to take our collection to Delhi and Bangalore. We will shortly launch an on-line store. We may revisit plans for a storefront in the future, if we feel having a standalone bricks-and-mortar presence would help further the brand," explains the co-founder.

At: Atosa, Aman Villa, 6B Anand Vihar Co-op Society, Khar (W); Chamomile, Palladium Mall, Lower Parel; Mal, 50 Bhagwat, second NS Road, JVPD Scheme, Juhu.u00a0