DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) — A Triangle mom is turning frustration into fashion, launching a new gender-neutral children’s clothing brand in Durham.
Asawin, launched by Catherine Kobe, is designed to give parents more choices and empower kids to express themselves.
“Children are precious, but their clothes do not have to be,” Kobe told ABC11 Eyewitness News.
She shared that the inspiration behind Asawin came from her experience as a new mother, when she felt the clothing options for her son were too limited.
“I found that everything was a little boring… or super gendered,” she said. “Boys like dinosaurs and girls like tutus and princesses…My son loves pink. He also loves dinosaurs, and he also loves glitter. So it’s just… kids contain multitudes.”
Named after a blend of her son’s and mother’s names, Asawin sells mix-and-match clothing bundles without gender categories. Parents can also buy individual pieces if they prefer.
“Everything mixes and matches and you’re good to go — or shop piece by piece if you’re kind of just trying to test it out,” Kobe said.
The clothing line also aims to be durable and sustainable, with repair kits and creative ways to extend each item’s life.
“You get a stain — I do sell a life extender kit,” Kobe said. “So, you tie-dye the clothes. They get a hole, you can iron on patches to cover the hole. We have a rotary cutter that — you know, your pants are too short, cut them off and make them into shorts.”
Kobe chose to launch her brand in Durham, where she’s lived most of her adult life and found a supportive community for her vision.
“What I wanted to do was to launch here where I feel like so many like-minded people are,” she said. “This is really our community. They get it. They want their kids to be independent and creative, and they don’t buy into necessarily the stereotypes of childhood.”
Kobe said one of the best parts of Asawin is giving children the freedom to choose their own outfits — no matter how colorful or unconventional.
“Their kid opens the closet and they can go in and pick out their outfit and it’s going to work,” she said. “It might be a little kooky, it might be a little crazy, but it’s them, and that’s childhood. That’s joy. And that’s really what we’re trying to capture here, acknowledging that childhood is messy and a little chaotic, but it’s really fun.”
Asawin’s online store is now live, with plans to hold pop-up events in the future.
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