When I first met Tina Tuchinda last August I was excited about discovering this up-and-coming children’s brand based out of New York. The truth is we started our video interview at the Tuchinda booth but had to cut it short since there were lots of interested buyers. So at Playtime Paris in January I was sure to find some quiet time to meet Tina again and get an update on the Tuchinda collection.
Tuchinda is Tina’s last name, but it also means Thai for “a closet of precious stones.” As Tina explains: “We believe this is fitting for our brand since we see each collection as a closet of precious pieces of art. Like a collection of art, filled with an eclectic mix of exciting colors, images, and feelings, children’s apparel should be just as thrilling. We hope the Tuchinda brand will always inspire children and adults with new and intriguing combinations.”
Interview with Designer Tina Tuchinda
“I went to Parsons, I graduated with a background in Womenswear. I was about to start my own Womenswear line, and then I got pregnant. I took about a year off, and then I got inspired by my son, and now I’m doing children’s wear.
I’m inspired by three cities in particular. Paris, the way they dress is so chic. The way they put together an old torn shirt with their jeans. I don’t know if it’s their attitude, or if it’s the way they put things together. It’s just uber chic and very je ne sais quoi.
In Milan, I noticed that people mix colors and prints in a very elegant and sophisticated way. Things that you didn’t think would go together go together absolutely beautifully when they put it together.
In Tokyo, you get either the avant-garde, beautiful fashions that you never even thought were possible. Or you get like in Harajuku the kids dressing up in Cosplay, which is really unique.
In these three cities, people dress like this on an everyday basis which I felt was lacking in America. We do have a lot of competitive brands. French brands, Italian brands, Japanese brands but I feel like nobody had it all together in one brand.
Tuchinda Girls Summer Dresses
Also, I am Korean, and my husband is Thai. We work together, I’m the designer and he’s the business side. And we draw from that background as well. So there’s maybe a little bit more Asian influence as well.
I think what makes us even more unique, people have said it’s our prints as well, as our use of colors and prints. But I also think that because of my background in women’s wear, I do add a lot of techniques that are kind of more geared towards women’s wear. Like high-end Womenswear that most children’s wear designers wouldn’t use because it’s too complicated they say. It’s too hard to grade, too hard to make at the price point that we’re at in Childrenswear.
Tuchinda Boys Summer Suit
But I try to push the envelope and try to make a little edgier, more adult-like children’s wear. Which is why we dress anywhere from 12 months to 16 years. I do maintain some classic as well as traditional shapes as well because sometimes a child just needs to be comfortable. The older children can wear slightly more unique, patterned pieces.
We have a lot of boy’s clothes as well, and I’m trying to grow them more and more. I do have a son so I’m always trying to find this kind of clothes. This is what some of the boys wear. It has a lot of little details so that if you look. It is harder to sew, but I believe it’s the little things that make a piece special. And the fabric is borrowed from the high-end Italian Menswear.”