Words Georgia McVeigh

For someone who has been in the public eye from the age of 15, Fearne Cotton is not your typical celebrity, radio DJ or wife of a rock star. Since she left BBC Radio 1 in 2015, she has remained under the radar, fiercely protective of her children’s privacy and happy to receive less public attention than she did in her youth. The former party girl has dedicated herself instead to the publication of her six healthy, happy living books and the creation of her kids clothing line. Last year she published Happy, a book in which she openly discusses her struggle with depression, and which she hopes will serve as an aid for those also struggling with the illness. She has two children – Rex, five, and Honey Krissy, two, with her husband Jesse Wood.

We caught Fearne at one of her rare media appearances, promoting her new range Fearne, by Fearne Cotton for the Boots Mini Club SS18 range. From the moment she walks in, it’s clear she hasn’t lost her ability to draw attention. She’s passionate when describing the range, a cool collection that includes dresses embossed with a cat imprint (chosen for her love of cats), sweatshirts with ant motifs to encourage little entomologists, and a gender-neutral range in earthy shades of brown and green. She exudes enthusiasm and real faith in her designs. So we have a quick chat with her about the new line…

How have your style credentials helped in designing your childrenswear range?

At this point in my life I know what I like, and I love prints, I love colour and experimenting with it. As I’m quite gung-ho about mixing and matching stuff and not worrying about what’s in fashion, it allows me to be more creative with the range.

Has your music industry background found its way into the designs?

Probably subconsciously it has, because music ties in so strongly to what you’ve experienced growing up and what your tastes and styles are. I’ve always been into old skool music, so we have some ’70s-style dresses for girls in the range and old skool hip-hop tracksuits for the boys. So maybe it has crept in there!

Many of the pieces are unisex – do you think gender-neutral fashion for kids is important?

I don’t think it has to be a must. People can be quick to say something has to be a certain way and not another way, but I think “who cares”.

If a girl likes to dress in an overtly feminine pink frilly way then wicked and if a boy does, too, then great. If a girl wants to dress like my daughter and only wear boys’ clothes then fab. I think there shouldn’t be any rules, whether it’s gender-neutral or not – just go with what the child wants to wear. Some pieces in the range are more gender-skewed in colour and shape, but, equally, there are some bits they can mix and match. So it’s ultimately about not being dead set on one route to go down.

Check out the rest of Fearne’s range on the Boots website