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Suddenly, pink teddy bears and feminine bouquets started to fill our hospital room. A nurse kindly ducked underneath a substantial IT鈥橲 A GIRL balloon display to take my blood pressure and asked me, 鈥渉ow does it feel to be a girl mom?鈥� 鈥淕reat!鈥� I replied, adjusting Romi鈥檚 oversized pink bow hat that the hospital staff had placed on her head the moment she emerged from my womb.

Honestly, it did feel great. I felt instantly connected to my daughter, I felt it was a privilege to raise a girl to become a strong, smart, powerful woman and, selfishly, I felt especially excited to dress one. I love fashion and I鈥檇 always dreamed of having a mommy-and-me matching moment with my daughter, but I had only ever shopped for boys. I had imagined that the girls鈥� aisles would be filled with adorably chic, versatile options. To my horror, they. were. not.

When I emerged from my postpartum haze, I discovered that the clothing options for 鈥済irls鈥� were as gendered as the balloons in my delivery room 鈥� everything was pink and frilly and covered in glitter. The T-shirts were plastered with rainbows and unicorns, the skirts were made of sequins and tulle, even the baby onesies said things like 鈥淏eing a Princess is Exhausting.鈥� I鈥檇 argue shopping for one is more exhausting.

The conversation has changed around gender and identity, but most of the clothes haven鈥檛. Why do we still have to choose between trucks and hearts, blue and pink?

Why do the boys get functional basics and the girls get fussy ensembles that look like they were made by My Little Ponies? Where are the stylish pieces for girls that are fun, without having a bedazzled ice-cream cone wearing sunglasses on the front? Where are the gender-neutral clothing options that any child can wear and feel great in?

When Joe Fresh approached me to create my first collaboration, this was my top priority. I wanted to make a unisex print that boys, girls, moms, dads, men, women, gender-nonconforming people 鈥� even babies fresh out of the womb 鈥� could wear and look great in.

I started by creating a cool checkerboard print in a neutral palette that can be mixed and matched with any colour. It was also important for me to elevate the cuts of the kids鈥� garments. The Rio and Dray T-shirts are a little boxier, the shorts are a bit shorter and the Romi dress is wider and more voluminous than the typical 鈥済irlie鈥� dress.听 It鈥檚 a dress even the most rough and tumble girl (a.k.a. my Romi) can wear comfortably to scale the ropes course at the playground and beyond.

Oh, and in order to live out my mommy-and-me matching outfits fantasy, I made an effortlessly cool linen shorts set for women and a matching shirt for men. If a woman wants to wear the man鈥檚 shirt, or a girl wants to wear the boy鈥檚 set, I say go for it. I have made the unisex collection of my dreams and the garments I want for my kids that are fun, fashionable and bold without screaming IT鈥橲 A GIRL! or IT鈥橲 A BOY! They really just scream IT鈥橲 A COOL PERSON! Now, let鈥檚 print that on balloons.

Jessi’s notes on the collection:

I secretly designed the Jessi shirt and Jessi short set for myself. Made with soft, washable linen, these pieces are what I will be living in all summer long. They can be worn over a swimsuit as a poolside coverup, as cute separates with jeans or a white T, or together and tucked in for a fun onesie look.

The Romi dress is cut wide and short, making it the perfect dress for playful toddlers and girls. My daughter, Romi, has been wearing the sample for months now, and she gets compliments everywhere she goes!

The Kid Rio and Dray sets are totally unisex and super cool. I pushed Joe Fresh a little out of their comfort zone with slightly more elevated cuts on the shorts and shirts 鈥� they can be worn together or mixed and matched with literally any colour top or bottom.

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