Viva Brighton Issue #58 December 2017

DESIGN
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Toby Tiger
Classic kids’ clothing
I doubt there’s a parent in town who hasn’t at
least seen, or likely laundered, one of childrenswear
designer Zoe Mellor’s animal babygrows or
rainbow-striped T-shirts.
Zoe is the founder of the Gardner Street institution
Toby Tiger and author of a dozen knitting
books. She was one of the first graduates selected
for New Designers and soon after had a string of
publishing commissions and an agent selling her
knitwear internationally.
After the birth of her first child, however, Zoe
realised she had to come up with a more scalable
business plan. She launched her label in 1998,
named after her son, Toby Tiger. The business is
about to turn 20 and is still going strong, distributing
to hundreds of mostly independent retailers
across the country.
Toby Tiger started as a range of quirky, organic
cotton slogan T-shirts, which in the 90s was a little
out of the ordinary. “Before we came along,” says
Zoe, “if you were going to do organic, there were
no prints - it was very beige and brown bread.”
Zoe’s dad worked as an architect for the UN and
the family travelled a lot. Her eternally bright
colour palette is inspired by growing up in the
Caribbean, a childhood she still dreams of. Toby
Tiger is now one of the few brands that are
Global Organic Textile Standard Certified, which
demands the entire supply chain be checked. This
commitment to ethical production is her father’s
influence also, who “talked a lot about recycling
and green energy ahead of his time”.
Zoe still designs all the clothes, carefully adding
to existing lines using a consistent palette so
pieces work together over seasons and even
years. It’s important to her that items be passed
on. “I try to choose colours to compliment skin
tone, so they’re bright but not luminous,” she
says. “I just want kids to look their best, and they
are beautiful - you don’t have to do too much.
Simplicity is key.”
Inspiration comes through osmosis, says Zoe.
“Design is a big part of my environment… I think
Brighton is a little bit ahead of the rest of the UK,
so you just get a feeling for what’s coming.”
Now, Toby Tiger has been going so long that
many early pieces are coming back ‘in’. Zoe will
be revamping some of their first slogan Ts as part
of their anniversary range. “I do feel we’ve been a
little bit inspirational,” she says, and clearly there
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