From top: Maud checks herself out in a mirror; McCartney with Marley, Eden and Alexander.
McCartney concedes it was challenging to replicate designer details for downsized prices. “But my job is to push for the best that I can do,” she says. “It’s ridiculous to not try to do that.” High-quality fabrics, McCartney adds, were non-negotiable. “To me, the fabric is so important, especially on a child, as they are so aware when things are scratchy.”
Though she has designed one pricey girls’ dress—a one-off for spring 2009 that was part of a matching mom and daughter set—McCartney has no immediate plans to include kids’ clothes in her signature line. And she admits that awaiting the verdict of discerning parents on the Gap collection is “kind of nerve- racking,” especially after the runaway success of her first guest High Street collaboration with H&M, in 2005, for which fans stood in line for hours. “You don’t know how it’s going to go down,” she says. “But I personally prefer shopping for my kids’ clothes to shop-ping for my own. I just get more enjoyment out of it.”
But since only a select few have been privy to McCartney’s children’s designs, such as the “alien outfits” she made for her sons’ school productions, there’s a distinct chance that even her inner circle will be fighting it out to get their hands on the line. “Everyone I know was like, ‘When are you going to do kids? When are you going to do kids?’” says McCartney. “It was just a question that was wearing me out.”
