Inside La Coqueta x Nicky Hilton's New Spring Collection

If you’ve ever dressed your little one in a La Coqueta smock and felt that particular kind of joy — the “I want to remember this forever” kind — you already understand what this collaboration is about.

Think classic silhouettes, delicate bows, a dreamy pastel palette, and a story behind every single piece. It’s the kind of collection you reach for at Easter brunch, Mother’s Day, and all those in-between spring moments that deserve to be remembered. We asked Celia and Nicky to give us an inside look at how their new collection came to life.

It Started With a Shared Sensibility

Nicky had been dressing her kids in La Coqueta for years before the two ever talked about collaborating. So when she and Celia finally sat down together, it felt less like a pitch meeting and more like two friends realising they’d been speaking the same language all along. “The way I dress my children has always felt very much in tune with Celia’s aesthetic,” says Nicky. “The collaboration felt incredibly natural from the start.”

For Celia, what sealed it was hearing Nicky talk about her own childhood. “Cherished family memories are at the very heart of what we celebrate at La Coqueta,” she says. “From the moment we started talking, I knew we were going to create something truly special.” The collection is still unmistakably La Coqueta — but Nicky’s fingerprints are all over it, and that’s exactly what makes it feel so alive.

The Childhood Memories Woven Into Every Piece

The most personal element of the collection is a bespoke toile du jouy designed around Nicky’s own childhood — a series of scenes that feel like a private scrapbook brought to life in print. The Waldorf Towers is there, of course. “My sister and I were known as the Eloises,” Nicky laughs. “We’d spend afternoons running around the hotel, sneaking peeks into the most fabulous parties in the ballroom.” A beach scene captures lazy family holidays in Maui; another is a nod to the matching powder blue dresses and sugary pink sashes she and her sister wore as little girls — the image that directly inspired the Milou dress.

“I’ve always believed in dressing children as children, just as I was dressed growing up,” says Nicky. “Childhood is such a fleeting moment — this collection bridges past and present, tradition and individuality, so perfectly.” It’s a sentiment Celia knows well: it’s the very idea La Coqueta was built on.

A Complete Family Wardrobe (Yes, Even for Maman)

One of the things we love most about this collection is that it truly dresses the whole family. Celia’s approach starts from the inside out: “It begins with a shared story — a colour palette, a mood, a particular detail — and then we interpret it across each category in a way that feels natural.” The result is a palette that flows beautifully from the buttercup yellow of Dolly to the powder blue of the Chasen baby set to the soft ditsy florals of Iris. Every piece feels like it belongs together, without any of them looking matchy-matchy.

Beautiful to Look At, Built to Be Worn

Here’s the thing about designing children’s clothes: you can’t just make them pretty. Between them, Celia and Nicky have eight children, so they know better than anyone that a piece has to hold up to real life. “It’s so important for a collection to be not only beautiful, but truly practical too,” says Nicky.

The playful details are what make these pieces so irresistible: delicate bows on dresses, blouses, and pinafore hems (a nod to Nicky’s lifelong love of the bow), embroidered kitty motifs on scalloped collars, and the Tessa T-bar with its embellished buckle — already earmarked as a little-girl favourite. As Nicky puts it: “Traditional silhouettes with a contemporary twist, designed to stand the test of time while remaining comfortable enough for little ones to run around and play in.” That’s the dream, isn’t it?

Shop the limited-edition collection here.

Imagery courtesy of La Coqueta. Campaign photographed on location at The Pierre, New York City.