Adult Model – Jessica Dawson

Child Models – Sylar + Seraphina

Dog Model – Daisy

Baby Snowsuit – Ralph Lauren Polo // Jumper – GUCCI // Waistcoat – Damson Madder // Coat – Vintage

Astronaut Costume – Zara Kids // Rain Boots – Ralph Lauren // Bag – Vintage Burberry

Trousers – Wynken Kids // Dog Collar – Rockett St George // Jumper – Ralph Lauren Kids // Waistcoat – Vintage // Lace top – Free People

Stripes Are Quietly Taking Over Children’s Fashion This Season

There’s something about stripes that returns every summer — but this year, they feel different. Less nautical cliché, more playful nostalgia. Less polished perfection, more personality.

Across SS26 collections, stripes are appearing everywhere in children’s fashion, from oversized rugby-inspired knits to candy-coloured everyday sets, relaxed tailoring and vintage-style resort dressing. They’ve become the print quietly leading the season without demanding attention.

Some of the strongest interpretations this season lean heavily into playful summer styling. Billieblush’s rainbow stripe socks instantly bring colour into everyday looks, while Molo’s lemon-inspired striped woven bag feels made for beach clubs, gelato stops and holiday dressing. DR Kid’s blue striped boys shirt captures that relaxed Italian summer energy perfectly — lightweight, classic and effortlessly polished.

Elsewhere, the timeless Ralph Lauren striped set continues to hold its place as the ultimate preppy staple, especially styled with crisp trainers and oversized sunglasses for that quiet “junior Wimbledon” mood. There’s a definite tennis influence returning across childrenswear right now — collared knits, stripe trims and soft sporty palettes all carrying that polished courtside energy.

Petit Bateau’s striped shorts offer a more understated take on the trend, grounding brighter summer wardrobes with something wearable and classic, while Mayoral’s striped jumpsuit proves stripes still work beautifully beyond matching separates.

What keeps stripes working season after season is their balance between timelessness and fun. They carry familiarity, but when reimagined through unexpected colour pairings and softer silhouettes, they suddenly feel fresh again.

This summer, stripes aren’t just a detail — they’re becoming the foundation of the season’s most wearable wardrobes.

SS26 has officially arrived in full force, and the new season mood is already impossible to ignore.

Across luxury childrens-wear, the collections standing out most right now feel softer, more tactile and far less overly polished than previous seasons. Crochet textures, washed sorbet tones, delicate florals and nostalgic detailing are appearing everywhere — from statement runway collections to the quieter independent labels shaping the mood behind the scenes.

Brands like Molo, Piupiuchick, Búho Barcelona and Louisiella are leaning into a more instinctive approach to dressing this season; pieces that feel playful without becoming costume-like, nostalgic without feeling dated.

Sunday’s Choice: Búho barcelona

Even the more traditionally polished luxury houses appear lighter this season. Matching sets feel less rigid, occasion-wear feels easier to wear, and colour palettes have shifted away from overly saturated brights toward softer butter yellows, faded pinks, seafoam greens and sun-washed neutrals.

What’s making SS26 feel particularly refreshing so far is the return of texture. Smocking, embroidery, crochet, lightweight knits and hand-finished trims are becoming central again after several seasons dominated by cleaner, more minimal styling.

Sunday’s Choice: MIPOUNET

The mood overall feels rooted in atmosphere rather than perfection. Garden lunches, summer holidays, countryside hotels, late sunsets, children running barefoot through slightly crumpled linen rather than heavily staged campaign dressing.

Sunday’s Choice: Kidiwi

The strongest arrivals so far aren’t necessarily the loudest pieces online. They’re the collections creating a feeling — the kind that immediately makes you start mentally bookmarking summer.

Some places seem designed to slow families down.

Provence is one of them.

The rhythm changes almost immediately; longer lunches, quieter mornings, children lingering over melting ice cream instead of rushing onto the next activity. Even the colours feel softer there. Dusty pink shutters, faded stone buildings, lavender fields turning silver in the evening light.

Travelling with children in Provence feels less about “family itineraries” and more about atmosphere. Open-air markets where little hands carry paper bags of cherries. Linen dresses drying in the sun outside countryside hotels. Late dinners that stretch long past bedtime because nobody particularly wants the evening to end.

What makes Provence especially beautiful with children is the absence of pressure. The best moments rarely come from heavily planned excursions. They happen between destinations; collecting wildflowers beside vineyard paths, discovering tiny village bookshops, stopping for tarte tropézienne somewhere you hadn’t intended to visit at all.

The region naturally lends itself to slower dressing too. Soft cottons, crochet knits, woven sandals, sun-faded stripes — the kind of pieces that look even better slightly crumpled after a day spent outdoors.

Places like Gordes, Roussillon and Saint-Rémy-de-Provence continue to draw families back for exactly this reason. They still feel cinematic without becoming performative.

There’s a particular kind of childhood memory Provence creates; one rooted less in spectacle and more in texture, colour and feeling. Long cicada evenings. Market baskets. Warm stone beneath bare feet. The sort of memories that quietly follow people into adulthood.

And perhaps that’s what travelling beautifully with children actually means in the end — not perfection, but presence.