Children’s clothing in Bilbao (Santutxu): Alexa Chung had worn the children’s clothing created by Idoia in her workshop in Santutxu as a child
This entrepreneur designs vintage-inspired garments to dress girls from 2 to 10 years old with style and in a sustainable way
Laura Ingalls and her lovely family have something to keep us in front of the TV for hours. The popular series, broadcast in the seventies, narrated her adventures in a small American frontier town in the West. But beyond all its problems to settle down and lead a harmonious life, ‘Little House on the Prairie’ is a most interesting stylistic visual exercise for any lover of fashion history. The protagonists are gorgeous in each episode, wearing country outfits and natural compositions, mainly, for flower dresses with bobo necks and large cuffs, two-piece suits with skirts and jackets, hoods to protect themselves from the sun or shirts closed all the way up with lace and with buttons. Some ‘looks’ that, of course, did not go unnoticed by Idoia Campillo.
“When I was 18 years old and while I was watching the series, I fell in love with all those Victorian-style dresses. I couldn’t find anything like it in any store, so I decided to do the same. I went for some flower fabrics and began to make homemade patterns by myself watching videos on YouTube », she recalls. Four years ago, this Bilbao created ‘Lil Creative’ (little creative). Her clothing firm for girls is respectful with the environment and produces entirely by hand. With a very characteristic style and different from what we see in supermarkets, this designer fashion strives every day to reach people who are aware of sustainable production and who at the same time seek to reduce their carbon footprint. It should not be forgotten that, when it comes to clothing, different actions can always be carried out. To help, you just have to take good care of the clothes, exchange them, buy them second-hand and made responsibly.
After studying administration and finance, Idoia specialized in fashion and sponsorship in Barakaldo. “The idea was not very clear… rather a difficult dream to fulfill, but I thought that one day I could create my own brand,” explains this 30-year-old creative living in Santutxu, who worked for a year in a children’s fashion company Basque and then making arrangements. From both experiences she learned and took away very positive things, which she has later been able to apply with impeccable skill to her particular project. During all this time and in her free time, Campillo continued to sew and improve the finishes of her dresses, while delving deeper into vintage fashion, investigating the decades from the 50s to the 90s. One thing led to another and, Just before the pandemic hit, he finally had to unleash his imagination and pursue his dream. «I love everything that includes volume, gathers, puffed sleeves, yokes, large necks, lace, embroidery, pastel tones…», she confesses amused. An ‘old’ style that, already seen in adults, is championed by the famous Alexa Chung, who is normally seen at both formal and informal events with ‘babydoll’ blouses and short dresses.
Aware that the textile industry is one of the most polluting in the world, the entrepreneur separated, saying that she was only going to buy what was necessary, create what was fair and nothing else. “Polyester kills the planet and so try to avoid it,” she says. Her small collections for girls, ranging from 2 to 10 years old, are created by hand one by one in her workshop in Bilbao, using natural-and national fabrics-such as cotton and linen. with Oeko-Tex certificates. Idoia, who declares herself in love with nature and rivers, seas, forests and fields, tries to respect the environment as much as possible, promoting human rights and responsible consumption. She believes that we should not renew the wardrobe with a thousand garments every six months; and she would like that, when one of her designs is too small for a girl, she can calmly pass it on to her sister or cousin.
«I see fashion as an expression of feelings, I like it and it stimulates. I could be doing gathers all day because it makes me happy and gives me a lot of satisfaction. I don’t follow trends, I do what visually appeals to me », points out this nostalgic and romantic creator, who has already been able to approach her project and learn different opinions about it at various markets in Zorrozaurre. Thanks to her originality in terms of her design, in 2019 she came second in the Güeñes Paper Dress Contest. And it is that her limited collections include the most special tops, skirts, dresses, shirts, blouses and jumpsuits. In addition, she will dare with small accessories such as scarves, headbands, bows and hair ties, a accessory that will brighten up and give a fun touch to any proposal of your little one. “Instead of mothers having to find them elsewhere, I can make them from the same fabric as the dress,” she says.
winter collection
Soon, the designer will create a demand (Pre-Order) and will get fully into the subject of prints, carefully painted by hand and with long hours of work behind. This winter, she will present a collection full of jumpsuits and corduroy pants with classic cuts. Also dresses, long with volume and very sweet prints, in addition to its characteristic blouses with large necks and ruffles. “Some of them will be embroidered with the name of the collection, ‘Polita'”, she specifies. With very competitive prices, ‘Lil Creative’ can be purchased at the moment
in his web page, with everything at 20% until this Monday; and through his
instagram profile.
The creator is quite clear about the course to take and where to go. She seeks neither to create an overproduction of clothes nor to mass-produce in large workshops, as she believes that this would go against herself. “I intend to continue creating my little pieces of art with the hope that someone will like them and they can be part of a girl’s childhood,” she clarifies. She, in turn, would like to specialize in digital printing and, why not? Participate in a parade to captivate the public and make her original proposal more known. While waiting for funding from DEMA, the Bizkaia Regional Employment and Entrepreneurship Agency, Idoia will invest all its desire and time in making an effort to promote what it has cost so much to start up.