Meet the Canadian brand Whistle & Flute. A line of modern, stylish and affordable children’s clothing inspired by Japanese kawaii characters. The name, “Whistle & Flute” comes from the English rhyming-slang for a suit of clothes.
The designers of the brand, Ryan and Miranda McCullagh wanted to create a line of children’s clothing featuring printed designs that they would wear themselves. (They do stock some of their designs in adult sizes!)
All Whistle & Flute clothing is printed on American Apparel clothing and feature original artwork by Miranda and Ryan. Check out their collection here.
Miranda kindly agreed to an interview so let’s find our more about Whistle & Flute.
How would you describe your brand?
Modern, simplistic designs. We like gender neutral and also age neutral.
What lead you to working with fashion?
I (Miranda) went to fashion design school in my early 20’s. I was a terrible seamstress and dropped out. I went on to work in the health care field. My husband Ryan and I started designing T-shirts for our band (The Paper Cranes) and we always sold more shirts than records (ha!). When we had our son Aki we decided to make him some shirts and that’s how Whistle & Flute got started!
How do you define your own personal style?
Black, black, more black. I saw a quote the other day that said “I’ll stop wearing black when they invent a darker color.” This really resonates with me. I like simple design, stripes and the occasional polka dot.
Who has been your biggest fashion influence?
I don’t follow fashion much. I do love Marc Jacobs though. Ryan is a graphic designer so I’d say we are more influenced by design and japanese harajuku fashion. What’s the biggest highlight of your career until now? We’ve only just started less than a year ago but have been truly welcomed by so many other shop owners. It’s been amazing to be able to work with Freshly Picked, Von Bon and House of Mia among others. All women I looked up to and now being able to have relationships with them is amazing.
What do you find most rewarding, and most challenging about your job?
Photos of kids in our clothes is by far the most rewarding thing. The most challenging is finding the time! With my husband working outside the home full time, a 22 month old and being 7 months pregnant it’s hard to fit in working as well. Lots of late nights but it’s worth it. I love having the opportunity to work from home and with my husband.
What is your favourite item from your AW13 collection?
I love the matching adult & kids Je T’aime pullovers the most. It’s a pretty sweet message, I think. “i love you”.
Is there anything cuter than the matching @miyekob and her daughter?! Say “I love you” to each other with these matching Je T’aime Pullovers. Thanks for letting me use this beautiful photograph!
[Kids Kawaii Cloud Baseball T]
