As part of our Meet the brand Q&A series, we talked to Charlotte Galsgaard, co-owner of Danish children's fashion brand, WHEAT. If you haven't yet discovered their beautiful printed patterns and natural textiles, now is the time!

Introduce us to the background behind WHEAT?
WHEAT was founded in 2002 by my husband Peter and I. We started as agents for international kids fashion brands and wanted to make a small brand for kids as a supplement. It was never meant to be as big as it has become and to begin with we started in our own living room with boxes and clothing all over the place. We did all the design, sales and packing ourselves. At the time only a few Danish kids fashion brands existed and WHEAT became popular very quickly – I think mainly because of our very classy and Scandinavian look. As parents of three our own children have been a huge and natural inspiration for the clothing, and particularly the fit and comfort which I think have been just as important as the design. Today the design team and I introduce approximately 500 new styles every season – including DISNEY and outerwear. The collections have just become bigger and bigger. Now more than 30 employees work at the WHEAT headquarters and a large number of agents are placed all over Europe representing the brand. Worldwide, WHEAT has partners in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the USA and China with their own WHEAT stores. We are very proud of what we have achieved so far and sometimes it’s a little hard to believe that we now are represented in 47 countries.

Tell us about the WHEAT aesthetic?

WHEAT has a very classy and Scandinavian touch with soft tones, matched colours, hand drawn prints and a strong reference to nature and the sea.

     

WHEAT t-shirt Whale - £22

WHEAT dress Sari in Bering Sea Blue - £37

How would you sum up WHEAT in three words?
Sustainable, good quality and hand drawn prints.

What is WHEAT passionate about?
We are very passionated about corporate social responsibility, sustainability, good quality and the perfect fit.

Who or what inspires WHEAT?
The great Swedish painter Carl Larsson is a huge inspirational character for WHEAT both in storytelling and colour palettes.

Which other Scandi/Danish brands do you love for adult fashion and home interiors?
For fashion, I love Naja Lauf, Stine Goya and Baum & Pferdgarten. For home interiors, it’s Arne Jacobsen, Gubi and Erik Jørgensen.

Tell us about your latest collection.
Nature is always our big inspiration and the AW19 collection is no exception. The collection is also much inspired by old floral wallpapers, poetry gardens, the wild west and wild horses. Transport is also a headline theme. The collection contains a lot of flowers, stripes, checked patterns and hand drawn prints with a colour palette of misty rose, grey blue, navy, silver blue, caramel and grey. 

    
 

WHEAT knit cardigan Betty in grey blue melange - £34

WHEAT t-shirt Mickey chalk - £30

Which is your favourite piece?
I’m very much in love with our hand drawn flower printed dresses.

WHEAT dress Nova - £22

Tell us about where WHEAT is based. What are your travel tips, places to visit with children, cool boutiques and sights to see?
WHEAT is based in Gentofte, just outside Copenhagen, close to nature and the very popular Dyrehaven – a large area of forest, fields and wildlife where gentle reindeers walk roam freely among people. The sea is also right on the doorstep.

The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art is a place I like to visit. It’s located on the coast in a very unique sculpture park. I get so inspired by all the different art and I love to hang out in the park afterwards enjoying the sculptures and the amazing sea view. It’s a great place for children to visit.

I love Copenhagen with all its aspects. Tivoli Gardens – the oldest amusement park in the world – is a must see, as is Copenhagen Zoo. And I love the Botanical Garden full of interesting flowers and plants.

Copenhagen is the place to go for shopping. All the international brands such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Yves Saint Laurent are represented, but more importantly the Danish brands like Ganni, Stine Goya and Baum & Pferdgarten, which are very popular outside Denmark, are also there. My favourite fashion stores are OZ, Stig P and Stine Goya, while Paustian, Beau Marché, Rue Verte and Gubi are nice interior stores. But mostly I do my shopping outside Denmark when I travel.

Denmark has experienced a food revolution in recent years and Copenhagen in particular has an excellent food scene. Reffen is a big street food market with all kinds of cuisines including Danish. It’s located right on the harbour at Refshaleøen. Besides enjoying the food it’s also possible for children to do some skating or scooting. Next to the food market you can visit the brand new art centre, Copenhagen Contemporary, or go climbing at Blocs and Walls.

   

WHEAT top Beathe in Eggshell - £25

Which is your favourite season to design for?
I like designing both summer and winter collections. For me it’s the process that's the interesting part.

 

WHEAT dress Nellie - £46

What was your favourite item of clothing as a child?
I grew up by the sea and have been sailing my whole life so I guess my favourite item is something sailor striped.

   

WHEAT t-shirt surfboards - £22

What does WHEAT have coming up next?
We have a lot of exciting plans for the future, but it’s still under construction, so I can’t really reveal anything at the moment! But I can promise it’s something exciting and big.

Finally, what are your WHEAT styling tips?We love that you can mix and match the WHEAT collections. For sustainability reasons, it’s very important to us that we use some of the same colour palettes in every collection so they work together with previous seasons.

   

WHEAT nappy pants ruffles in Eggshell - £22

WHEAT knit cardigan Maja - £34

Why we love WHEAT: From Four Fairies and a Prince co-founder, Pinja.
"When we started seriously planning the launch of Four Fairies and a Prince, I stumbled upon one brand that I really wanted to introduce to the UK market. And that was WHEAT. I thought the combination of pretty prints – traditional flower prints, animals and cars – combined with Scandinavian softer toned colours, an affordable price tag and amazing quality was something that Caroline would love too. And she did. So WHEAT was one of the first appointments we made when we attended the first trade show, CIFF in Copenhagen. The collection that we stock has steadily grown in terms of styles as the customers have discovered the brand and fallen in love too!"

Shop the Wheat collection now