What’s the story with Oilily?
January 21st, 2010
About 40 years ago, a young Dutch couple, Willem and Marieke Olsthoorn, started a children’s label called Oilily. Marieke had a unique talent for design, and Willem had an independent feel for business.
They gathered an unconventional bunch of people around them to help grow their brand, all driven by the same mentality as Marieke and Willem: to make exciting and surprising children’s clothing without following trends or expectations.
Oilily was the first children’s brand that used bright, happy colours, a mix of patterns and plenty of special details. They were also easy to wear and care for, so children could really play in the clothes and move around freely. The clothes were truly very different than anything that ever existed before.
Every child growing up in the Netherlands in the seventies and eighties knew Oilily, and possibly had one or more Oilily outfits. It became a true fashion I remember — Oilily was super hot!! I begged my mum for an Oilily coat, and the boys at school proudly wore their stonewashed jeans with colourful Oilily sweat shirts.
Before long, Oilily was picked up by the international stars. Jerry Hall and Michael Jackson dressed their children in Oilily, and remember Rudy Huxtable, the youngest daughter in the Cosby show? She wore Oilily almost exclusively. Oilily became big, a worldwide hype — I remember the adult fashion, the bags, the perfumes…
Both Marieke and Willem stapped out of the company at the end of the nineties, and the decline of the company slowly started. It lost the quality, the special touch. And in 2009 the credit crisis put an end to the fairy tale… Oilily went bankrupt.
I saw the empty Oilily shop, here on the corner of the PC Hooftstraat in Amsterdam, it looked so desolate, so sad…
Imagine my surprise when I visited the Kleine Fabriek recently (the trade fair for children’s labels here in Amsterdam) and I saw Oilily amongst the many stands! Of course I went and asked what was going on. Well, good news: Willem and Marieke bought the brand back! They decided they were not going to let their beautiful brand go down, so even though they are now both in their late sixties, they decided to start all over again.
They pulled together a small team of designers, got some of their (also very talented) children involved, and presented their ‘first’ collection on the Kleine Fabriek: the Oilily Classic Collection.
And I liked what I saw. More muted colours, beautiful designs, very Oilily, classic in a way but with loads of pattern and details. Wonderful cuts, and great fabrics. Soft baby clothes (soon!!), practical kids outfits… Oilily is back!
The Oilily Classic Collection should be in the stores in June — I’ll keep you posted.
xxx Esther
Entry Filed under: For Kids, Kid's Fashion
12 Comments Add your own
1. Dina | January 21st, 2010 at 6:13 pm
There is a huge store here Soho. A friend gave us a little Oilily jacket as a gift when the girls were young. It is so adorable I want to frame it and hang it on the wall. Even though it’s for a 1yr old – I am holding on to it.
2. Vintage Kids' Books My Kid Loves | January 21st, 2010 at 6:31 pm
So cute… I wish I had a girl sometimes!
3. Sara | January 21st, 2010 at 7:57 pm
We love Oilily and until the credit crunch had a little store in Malvern….
When I lived in the UK pre-kids I would visit the big Sloane Street store with a list from my sister in Melbourne who wrote down what she liked from the catalogue!
4. Emilie | January 21st, 2010 at 8:05 pm
I grew up with Oilily, it was huge and one of the rare lovely things, in Germany in the 80’s.
5. Bianca | January 22nd, 2010 at 11:59 am
That is really good news! Thanks for sharing!
6. Amanda | January 22nd, 2010 at 12:56 pm
I was very sad when the London store closed. I bought my daughter a gorgeous dress for her first birthday…it was a wee bit big but it was a magical dress. It’s in the closet in storage-no getting rid of that one! Can’t wait to check out their new collection.
7. Heather Roberts | January 22nd, 2010 at 1:09 pm
I have the most adorable coat and gilet for my daughter I got from TK Maxx in the UK. There is quite a bit in there at the moment. Now I know why. I’m glad to hear it’s back though
.
8. Ann | January 22nd, 2010 at 1:38 pm
best news! When I was little in the 80’s my mother always bought us one outfit per year and I found it so hard to choose one. My mother’s friend (a mother herself) was always dressed completly in Oilily and I decided to get dressed that way when I was a grown up too. Now I can!
9. Roos | January 22nd, 2010 at 1:44 pm
aaaaaaaaahhhhhh that’s my girl!
Uh? Oh, yeah, clothes..now I see, this is not about the girl ;-P
10. Mo | January 22nd, 2010 at 2:51 pm
I totally grew up wearing Oilily and was the envy of my school friends – who found my (parents) taste in clothes kind of crazy but beautiful. It formed my love of clothes and being playful with what you wear – Still most of my friends think I have a slightly nutty fashion-sense – and I love that.
So glad they are back as I was really sad when I heard they’d gone under!
11. Courtney | January 25th, 2010 at 10:14 am
I also grew up with Oilily! I had this really outrageous and colourful jacket that I wore for probably two years before admitting it had gotten too small. It was WAY cool. I remember it had matching shoes too.
It’s so great to hear that the original owners have bought back their brand!
12. Molly | February 6th, 2010 at 12:29 am
I’m thrilled Oilily will be coming back. No one makes clothes so perfectly detailed and girly as they do! Viva La Oiliy!!
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