We have a lot to celebrate here at BÉIS. Not only is BÉIS turning four this week, but we are also launching our very first design collaboration with muse, Elsa Hosk. We got candid with her at our most recent campaign shoot—here’s a look at our conversation.
What is your inspiration for the collection was, and how you got involved with Shay for this?
The inspiration for this baby bag collection was non-baby bags. Anything you could use when your baby is grown up too. For example, you can still use the tote, you can still use the clutch as your kids get older. You can transition with them throughout your life. I want my bags to be super chic, ones I can bring to the beach, and no one will know it's a baby bag. I also wanted to bring in some fun patterns and colors. Shay and I decided to do something really fun and unique. It's a beautiful little pop of print. The floral one is so cute, and I've been traveling all over the world with the checkered one, the green one, and it looks good everywhere you go. I'm proud of the prints, I think they're cool, fashion forward and so cute. Tuuli loves them too; she gravitates towards prints over solids—they make everybody around her and me happy.
Did you know of BÉIS before this collection? Have you ever tried our luggage before?
I 100% knew about BÉIS before we started this collab. Shay sent me a couple suitcases, and I was a fan from day one. I love the way they work and all the special details that she thought of, the small details many bigger brands don't think about. For example, the suitcase expands. When I travel, I always end up shopping or getting samples sent to me, and I come home with more than what I brought for the trip. Having a suitcase that expands, that’s genius. She thinks about these things because she's so smart and she's such an incredible business woman in the way that she thinks about her products and her brand. I was a huge fan from day one.
Is this your first bag collaboration, or have you done other bags before?
I have done some bag collaborations in the past, but it was in the beginning of my career. Now, being a mom and knowing what it takes every time I leave the house, I have a great feel for what compartments parents want and it really helped inform the design process. Combining my sense of style with Shay and her team's expertise when it comes to the technical parts of the collection has been so cool. I don't think there is anything like it on the market: Something that feels really chic but is also extremely functional.
Do you have a favorite pattern?
My favorite pattern is Garden Party because it is my daughter Tuuli’s energy. She was born at home, and when I was pregnant, we moved from New York to LA in large part because I was craving green. I was craving nature, flowers and trees. I think it was her telling me that she wanted to be somewhere around nature. When she was born, she was obsessed with nature. Obsessed. Anytime she sees a flower, on the tote or in a book, she will try and smell it. Even though it has no smell, she will literally try to smell it. The floral print is one of my favorites. And definitely hers.
And then from the floral, do you have a specific product that you love?
I don't know. It's so hard. If I have to choose, I love The Tote. Traveling around, it's the only baby bag that I need. It also has a long strap for Tom, my boyfriend, who has a hard time with a little strap. It looks cool on him, too, even though it’s floral, it works. It has a stroller straps that you can use to hang the tote on your stroller. Everybody asks me when I'm walking around my neighborhood, where I got my tote from because it truly is so special. When we travel, I use the caddy as an insert. I put all of our toiletries in there. It's a genius insert for extra organization. It's hard to find something similar.