Kris Van Assche links with China's Balabala for first kidswear collection

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Nov 14, 2022

Designer Kris Van Assche has linked up with Chinese kidswear brand Balabala for the first time on a children's capsule celebrating the brand’s 20th Anniversary.

Balabala claims to be the number one kids' brand in China and leading kids' brand in Asia, serving more than 20 million families.

And it recently released a premium concept, which makes the link-up with the former Creative Director of Dior Homme and Berluti  good timing.

Van Assche said of this: “When I was approached to do a childrenswear collection it came as a bit of a surprise. This is a totally new experience, where for the first time ever, I had to address my work to girls and boys between three to 14 years old, which turned out to be interesting, challenging and fun.”

He was inspired by his own earlier adult collections with Balabala by Kris Van Assche adopting “the visual references of colourful dots and the sartorial graphic of the houndstooth, reworking them for this unique children's collection”.

Those colourful dots are a “90's party reference” that “becomes a playful, fresh motif for children, while the houndstooth — a traditional tailoring fabric graphic — envisions a comic superhero”.

The collection is available in 20 premium stores and two flagship stores in Greater China, as well as online at T Mall.

The designer added that what he likes about the brand is that it has such a wide reach. He added that it’s “super exciting for me as a designer to reach the young generation on such a huge scale”.

Founded in 2002, Balabala operates in over 4,800 stores in China and 40+ stores internationally.