Sergio Hudson, the Los Angeles-based fashion designer, is getting into the kids’ business. He will launch his first kids’ collection with OshKosh B’gosh in stores and online on Oct. 22.
According to Hudson, he was introduced to OshKosh B’gosh through Harlem’s Fashion Row.
“Well, HFR kind of put us together, and they came to me and asked, ‘Would you like to do a collection with OshKosh?’ And I was like, ‘Of course,’” said Hudson, who was interviewed at the Roots Studio in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, while doing a kids’ fashion shoot.
“I’m great friends with Brandice [Daniel, founder and chief executive officer of Harlem’s Fashion Row]. I wanted to do something different and something that I haven’t done before, as opposed to doing another diffusion collection with a store. I was like, ‘I’m going to do something where we build something together,’ and I just felt like OshKosh was such an iconic brand. I remember buying it for my godchildren, my nieces, my kids. So it’s just come full circle,” Hudson said.
Sergio Hudson and two looks in a campaign image from the OshKosh B’gosh x Sergio Hudson collection.
Courtesy of OshKosh B’gosh
The collection is sized 12 months through 14 years old. There are 13 styles per age, retailing from $22 to $45. The collection mixes authentic OshKosh details like denim and hickory stripe, reimagined with signature Sergio Hudson design elements. It also features gender-neutral designs, something new for the OshKosh brand.
Safari- and utility-inspired touches, including cargo pockets and adjustable inner waists are some of the details, which echo Hudson’s signature cinched silhouette, and add both function and style.
In the past, OshKosh has participated in fashion collaborations via licensing agreements with Gucci and Kith. The Sergio Hudson collection is OshKosh’s first designer collaboration that will be sold exclusively at OshKosh B’gosh stores and on oshkosh.com. Simultaneously, this is Hudson’s first kids-exclusive collection. The collaboration will be sold in 18 stores, including in New York, South Carolina, California, Florida and Georgia, and online for a limited time.
Hudson explained what got him interested in childrenswear.
“I mean, I love kids,” said Hudson, who has two young daughters. “I have older children that I actually raised — a 26-year-old stepdaughter and a 26-year-old godson….I also have a younger adopted brother and lots of nieces and nephews. I’ve always wanted to have a foothold in that part. I mean, I want to dress everybody. You can’t really do that when you’re building a brand right off, so these kind of opportunities are great,” Hudson said.
A denim jacket in the OshKosh B’gosh x Sergio Hudson collection.
Billy Kidd, courtesy of Oshkosh B’gosh
Billy Kidd shot the ad campaign, which features 14 kids wearing the collection. The launch will be accompanied by a big social media push. The collaboration is for one season.
Asked about his aesthetic for kids, Hudson said, “My aesthetic for kids is kind of what the Sergio Hudson brand is — classic pieces that can translate throughout time. I didn’t want to do anything that you can look at and say, ‘Oh, that came out in 2022.’ I don’t design clothes like that. I don’t like trends. I like classic things. So when we were doing the collection, I wanted to go through what were their classic iconic pieces and reimagine them,” Hudson said.
The designer took their classic overalls and training set and reimagined them. For example, he likes using stripes and put the Sergio Hudson and OshKosh logo inside the stripes. “I’m very into monochromatic. So when we came together, I was like, ‘Could we do red?’ But I wanted it to be red on red, like two different shades of red,” he said.
A campaign image from OshKosh B’gosh x Sergio Hudson kids’ collection.
Courtesy of OshKosh B’gosh
“A lot of adults are fans of the brand, so I wanted them to be able to dress their kids in what the Sergio Hudson look would kind of be for them,” Hudson said.
Asked about his favorite looks from the collection, he pointed to the little girl set, of a skirt and jacket. “You know we’re putting it with a little red tight and some red shoes,” he said. He said he also wanted to do something with denim and a Sherpa lining, and they came up with a biker jacket using “this beautiful fabric that’s of course kid friendly,” he said. Another favorite was the safari jacket.
Behind-the-scenes at the OshKosh B’gosh x Sergio Hudson shoot.
Courtesy of OshKosh B’gosh
He said he wanted to add belts to some of the looks, but they’re like, “hold on.”
“There are rules and regulations for kids, so that was amazing to learn. They have to be safe,” Hudson said.
Hudson said he worked on the collection for about six to eight months, and because OshKosh B’gosh is based in Atlanta, he visited there about three times. “Then we had a lot of meetings, Zoom meetings,” he said. OshKosh was acquired by Carter’s Inc. in 2005.
Hudson said the collection is geared to boys and girls, and a lot of pieces are unisex, which he really pushed for. “It was one thing that I pushed for because I have one godson who was really like the muse” for the collection. And he wears a lot of girl clothes because they don’t make boys’ clothes…you know. They’re more generic than the girls clothes. I wanted to do something that was like neutral,” he said. “I’m not one of those designers that make gender neutral clothes, but I feel like for kids.”
He said he designed a boot-cut pant for boys. He also did a lot of hoodies. “I have teenagers now, and this is all they wear,” he said.
“I really wanted to bring those things that I was always looking for as a parent to this collection,” Hudson said.
Hudson pointed out that his regular collection has a Bergdorf Goodman designer price tag, “so whenever I do a a collaboration I really want to try and bring it to people so they can be able to actually afford it.”
“You don’t want to bring something to the table that is not affordable for people with children because I know how difficult that is being a parent myself,” he said.
Asked what his favorite memory was as a kid, Hudson said, “Going on vacation and shopping the outlets. Florida was my favorite because they had all the designer outlets. And the crazy part is we used to always shop the OshKosh outlet for all my nieces and nephews,” he said.
