A Childhood, Not A Season ~ Gold Award in Best Heritage Children's Fashion Brand, with Junior Design Magazine

When I heard myself explain the Movement out loud at a tradeshow, for the first time ~ it felt so right! Like how fashion should be, and should have been the whole time.

At the time, GRECH & CO. had brought the prints back from the first Spring Summer and then into Autumn Winter, and the idea of not just building on color throughout the years, but now prints, was beginning to take shape.

Many of my colleagues didn't understand it, and many still don't. "But don't you need to come out with new... new, new, new?" I get it ~ and the question of course makes absolute sense.

And we do! We just build our new around our already loved. It just feels natural to keep things in the closet and bring them out again seasons to come, and buy pieces around the pieces you already love.

A childhood lasts far longer than one season, and we believe so too should their wardrobe.

We appreciate the beauty in children outgrowing things ~ but a piece becoming last season a few months after it was bought, no longer holding the value it was once loved for, we recognize is not a fact of childhood. It is an industry decision, and one we choose to design and create outside of.

So I design the other way. As a 100% full time mother of four, I feel this to my core ~ I am the one packing the bag, finding the hat, handing the poncho down to the next one, and I want the things in my own house to keep their place rather than quietly expire.

We design with the same color palette, and only that palette, year after year. The colors show up through solids and prints, and the prints are intentionally designed so they can be mixed, matched and paired across seasons, years, ages, genders and sizes. The poncho goes with the sandals, and the sunglasses, and the bottle on the kitchen counter.

You feel it on the ordinary mornings. The swimsuit that comes back out, and this time has the sandals to go with it. The poncho handed down that nobody has to apologize for, because it still matches what is on the shelf today. The four year old who dressed herself and got it right, because there was no wrong combination in that drawer to find.

"Last Season" simply DOES NOT need to come with a Clearance Sale. What you carry from last season will still be loved next season, because it pairs with what is new.

We can change the way our children are seen wearing "Last Season's Clothes," and it starts with us ~ the industry. As brands, we hold so much power over how a society sees what is worth keeping, and in general it goes incredibly unnoticed. No child should feel the pressure of wearing something off the sale rack, and every parent should feel a piece holds its value, for one child or handed down to the next.

In September 2026, GRECH & CO. won Gold at the Junior Design Awards 2026, for Best Heritage Children's Fashion Brand. The heritage category is for brands over 10 years old, and they recognized the color palette, a philosophy of lasting design rather than seasonal trends, and pieces made to stand the test of time in quality and appearance.

"A beautifully considered brand with a thoughtful philosophy centred around lasting design rather than seasonal trends." ~ Bridget Mackinnon

"It feels fresh, modern and instantly recognisable, a standout brand." ~ Charlotte Kewley, founder of The Little Stylist

"The prints are definitely timeless and I can see how these would have a longer lifecycle... Sunglasses and swimwear are the stand out categories for me." ~ Naomi Alderton, buyer at John Lewis & Partners

This Gold Heritage award means so much more to me than "Good job, you did it." To me it means "Good job, you are making a difference," and this is just the very beginning! Read the judges' full notes on Junior Magazine.

I'd love to hear: what would change if "last season" never had to go on sale?

Share your magic ~ tag @grechandco and we will reshare your creativity right back, with your name on it.

Most Warmly,
~ Janet