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Estella’s Interview with Shirin Roubeni: Designer of ShirinKids
Shirin Roubeni, the imaginative designer behind the whimsically edgy kids clothing line, ShirinKids, joins Estella for the launch of her new collection of girl’s limited edition Holiday Dresses with a trunk show at our West Village boutique. She joins us today for an exclusive interview about her line, what inspires her, tips for wearing her clothing and what’s to come for this talented designer.
Hello Shirin! It’s so wonderful to have you on our blog! We love your line of adorable dressed up “couture” tees at our store. Your career in design originally started with your womanswear line. What motivated you to expand into children’s clothing?Thanks so much for including me in your blog!
A lot of my friends and customers have kids and they kept on telling me that some prints would have been perfect for their little ones. I love children, and it came very natural to me to design for them. I made a few pieces two years ago that were very well received, then I launched a full collection last spring. It makes me so proud to see them wearing my designs.
You are a fashion designer living in NYC – does street fashion influence your designs? What is a current trend for kids that you just can’t get enough of?
Shirin Kids is a contemporary streetswear line and living in New York keeps me in the loop of what is happening in terms of style. My main inspiration though is nature, so I try to incorporate the poetry of beautiful plants and animals into my urban designs.
The current trend I can’t get enough of are little dresses over leggings, for women and little girls.
Your new collection of limited edition holiday dresses for girls are simple, yet have a gorgeous twist with the beautiful silkscreened prints that adorn them. We especially love the cotton ball print dresses and baby tee that connect the fabric of the garment with its source. Is this done intentionally or purely for aesthetic purposes?
Cotton plants are my favorite, you can find then in vases in my apartment! So I would say it is purely aesthetic. The print I use for the cotton ball is called “puff”, which has a 3D effect, it is considered my signature print.
In addition to your regular line of girl’s and babies clothing, you recently launched a line of organic cotton clothing. Is all of your clothing manufactured and printed with an environmentally friendly approach?
Yes, all my collection is made with eco-friendly fabrics. Each piece is individually printed by hand with water-based inks, instead of the commonly used oil base plastisol, and finished with heat and pressure, instead of chemicals. Additionally, extra fabric pieces are constantly recycled and used as appliques on the shirts. Lastly, recycled packaging is used to ship the product.
We’ve read that you collect keepsakes from your travels and keep them in inspiration scrapbooks to reflect on during the design process. Where have you traveled to recently? Did this inspire the Fall-Winter “Wonderland” Collection?
I just loooove the mountains! I went skiing and hiking as much as possible the past year, in Vermont, Colorado and Utah…no wonder I called the collection “Wonderland”, it is inspired by my favorite season, winter. I just adore the snow.
Speaking of the “Wonderland” collection, we are loving the beautiful touches with luxurious fabrics like the Long Sleeve Girls Tee with Cashmere Shoulder Ruffles! With such detailed tops, what bottoms do you recommend to compliment them?
With such elaborate top I would probably suggested solid colored pants or skirts and jeans.
Can you recommend any products that would make your gorgeous tees and dresses more winter friendly?
Some warm tights leggings, I love the Grey Girl Sparkle Tights by Le Big. A handknit cardigan like the Mormor Nu Handnit Bolero. And to step outside, the Poppy Plum Hooded Wool Swing Coat by Album di famiglia.
Are you currently working on any new collections? What can we expect from you in the future?
My Spring Summer collection is coming out soon and it will also include dresses for girls. It is very bright, using a lot of whites and naturals. Some of the new items are diaper covers that match the babies tank tops… really sweet. Once again, my women collection matches the kids designs, a delightful perk for mother and child.
Thank you so much for joining us, Shirin! We can’t wait to see what you have in store for us! See all of the edgy and unique looks mentioned here from Shirin NYC at Estella-Nyc.com.
