For the coolest-looking kids on the block
L.A. designer Anine Bing turns to the small set for her latest line, creating stylish, yet effortless togs.
It’s been six years since the Swedish-born Anine Bing started her fashion line, but today her selfnamed label boasts eight stores, several fashion categories and a devoted it-girl following.
“When I started, it was very simple,” said Bing, who opened her label’s first store in L.A. in 2014 and followed with others in cities including New York, London, Paris and Berlin. “I was hoping to create beautiful clothes that women would wear and love and feel beautiful in, but I had no idea how fast it would grow.”
Bing’s line, with pieces that sell from $79 to $999, includes clothes, shoes, jewelry, accessories and a perfume. And now the designer is tackling a children’s collection, which launched March 29. “I’ve been wanting to do it since the start,” she said of Bing Kids, which is available on her website, www .aninebing.com. “But I wanted to wait for the right moment and grow the main brand to where it was standing by itself and had a strong presence.”
The children’s line, with pieces that run from $39 to $399, includes small signatures from the main collection such as rock ’n’ roll-style Tshirts, skinny jeans, an army jacket and a leather jacket as well as sweatshirts, sweatpants and sleep sets. “I wanted it to feel like Anine Bing,” the designer said. “I know a leather jacket is not for everybody, but it’s fun to have it be part of the line because it’s such an iconic piece for us.”
While creating the line, Bing was careful not to be too precious about the pieces, focusing instead on designing a collection in which kids could be kids. “I want it to be easy for the parents, and I want kids to play in [the pieces] and have fun and not have to be careful,” she said. For Bing, part of that “ease” was making the collection largely unisex: “It’s not too girlish and not too boyish. It’s cool and effortless. It’s for everybody. I don’t want to put too many rules on it.”
Like her main line, the children’s pieces will forgo seasonal collections in favor of monthly product drops, a business model Bing has used since launching her women’s label. “I saw the opportunity when I saw social media starting to become big back then,” Bing said. “When I started the line, I believed so much in my own product that I didn’t go to wholesalers. I just went straight to production. I put them online and in the store and, thank God, they sold. I saw the opportunity to build the business around that.”
A mother to Benjamin, 4, and Bianca, 7, Bing said she has the perfect pair of little people to weigh in on her designs. “Bianca loves the creative part,” Bing said. “Sometimes she sits with my designers and gives them ideas. From the start, she always wanted to wear what I was wearing. Benjamin just wants to wear comfortable clothes. So for him, I made sure to make some cool sweatpants and relaxed, comfortable clothes.”
Although this new collection is a major undertaking, there is no rest for a fashion mogul in the making. Bing continues to open stores; a second New York store this weekend and one in the Pacific Palisades this fall. “I want to continue to open more stores,” Bing said. “I want to expand the collection and get better in every category. My goal is to grow this brand to be one of the best out there and to be worn by women in their everyday lives, making them feel like themselves and feel beautiful.”