Petits Vilains puts ethical style into children’s clothing

Parents know when it comes to clothes, the cycle of out with the old and in with the new can be pretty quick.

With these growing pains in mind, Jennifer Christie and Rachel Shamash, the duo behind the new brand Petits Vilains, decided to try to slow down the process — from a clothing perspective, of course.

In celebration of their new line, the designers chatted with Postmedia News about clothes, kids growing up in their creations and what the reaction has been to their brand so far:

Q For those who aren’t familiar, what is Petits Vilains?

Christie Petits Vilains is a line of elevated children’s wear, designed, cut and sewn right here in Vancouver. The collection is a modern take on timeless classics.

Q What made you want to start the line?

Christie When we first became parents, we just weren’t seeing clothes that were being made locally that also lived up to our esthetic. So our goal was to make beautiful, high-quality children’s clothes that felt special, but that could be worn every day.

Q Is there a story behind the name?

Christie My husband Casey is French Canadian and petits vilains (little villains) is a cheeky term of endearment he grew up being called and now calls our daughters. We love that the name captures the mischievousness of children. It’s meant to be tongue-in-cheek and playful.

Q I’ve read the brand is committed to sustainable sourcing and ethical production. What can you share about that?

Shamash For us, sustainable and ethical production are the core of our brand ethos. Making beautiful clothes is what we love doing, but we only wanted to do it if we could do it feeling really good about how our clothes were made and what they were made with.

On the sourcing side, it has been a very steep learning curve for us to really understand how fabric is grown, milled and dyed. Finding organic fabric is actually not too difficult nowadays, but when we delved deeper, we learned that not all organic fabric is made equal.

Q What can people expect to find in the new collection?

Christie The fall 2017 collection is inspired by the curiosity, creativity and mischievousness of children and is titled, The Hidden Spaces, the Faces & the Makeshift Places. The collection is a nostalgic nod to tunics, pinafores and bloomers, and is balanced out with modern items like relaxed harem pants, minimalist overalls and slim, sportier knits.

Q What is the price point of Petits Vilains designs?

Christie Our organic, cotton-knit essentials are priced between $36 and $46. Our shirts and blouses are priced between $78 and $88, and shorts and trousers are priced between $58 and $88. Dresses and overalls are priced between $98 and $110.

Q Where can people check them out?

Christie Our entire collection is available on our online shop, petitsvilains.com.