StyleNest take five minutes with Head of Design for Nutmeg, Morrisons first clothing line Katy Percival.

Former Head of Kidswear Design for Tesco, Katy has travelled far and near discovering the world of fashion. We caught up with her to talk design, children’s fashion and top tips on how to balance life being a working mum.

You are Head of Design for Nutmeg and a mum of two, when designing do you take inspiration from your personal experiences and family life?

I take inspiration from many places and when making decisions I always consider all the mums that I know who are from a wide range of backgrounds and have very different budgets to spend on clothing.

When did you first realise you wanted to enter into the realms of fashion?

I’ve have been interested in fashion from a very early age. I loved to watch the glamour of 1950’s and 60’s in black and white movies and aspired to their fashion ideals. My mum has also been very influential as she has always sewn, crocheted and knitted, so I learned a lot of construction techniques and patience from her.

 You have worked for some huge brands such as Tesco, what has been your ultimate achievement?

My proudest professional achievement was the internal launch of Nutmeg at the Morrison’s annual conference. We held a catwalk event for 1200 colleagues including the Board members. The Nutmeg Commercial Director Tim Bettley delivered a rousing introduction and the catwalk started…this was six months of intensive hard work finally being unveiled. The Nutmeg Leadership and Senior Management colleagues present were all grinning from ear to ear. This is a Brand that has been created by great teamwork from the Nutmeg clothing team to our internal Brand, Marketing and PR teams.

There is a fine line when it comes to fashion and children’s fashion. What are your views on kids dressing too old for their years and growing up too fast?

There is a very fine line when it comes to children’s fashion. I think that children should look like children; clothes should be fashionable (not be a slave to adult fashion), fun and make you smile.

Becoming a new mum is a scary and exciting time, what are the new born essentials no mum should be without?

I think the biggest thing I’ve learnt was that you don’t need a lot when the baby is first born. The essentials are: a few packs of white bodysuits, sleep suits, muslin squares, bibs and a soft cardigan or hoodie is enough to get you through the first couple of weeks and with prices starting at £2.75 at Nutmeg these are very affordable items for every budget. Once you as a mum have started to recover, you can then start shopping for all the other exciting outfits.

Trends obviously filter through into children’s wear, what are the top SS13 trends for kids to ensure they are looking cool on the playground?

For girls, coloured skinny’s and botanical prints are important for the beginning of the season, moving into sunset shades and a nod to tribal for summer. Coloured chinos moving into chino shorts add a splash to boys wardrobes with bright check shirts and super soft polo tops to co-ordinate.

How do you juggle a successful career with motherhood?

It’s really not easy but I do have a very understanding husband.

Mums are often expected to be ‘supermum’. Do you think there is too much pressure on women to be perfect at everything?

I think we can often put too much pressure on ourselves. I try to be the best I can be at all times, but unfortunately I’m not perfect so some things do slip.

Can you clue our StyleNest readers on any exciting projects you are working on?

We are about to start shooting the new in store/press photography for our Autumn/Winter 2013 range and with my team, we have started to create the looks, colour palettes and moods for Spring Summer 2014.

Women often lose their confidence and sense of self after having children, what advice would you give to women to help them get their style back after giving birth?

My advice would be that if you’ve given birth you can do anything you put your mind to. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done but also the most rewarding. Don’t expect your body to return to normal straight away, it takes time. Wear fitted bottoms with stretch fabrics, support vests can give you an extra confidence boost and finish with looser tops. Everyone can see the bits of you that still look great whilst hiding the bits that need work.

With kids growing so fast, what’s the best way to get the most out of their wardrobe?

As a mum I know that shopping and children don’t make a very good combination. So at Nutmeg we have designed the ranges to have co-ordinating items that you can mix/match/layer all pieces so no matter what combination, the outfit always looks fantastic. Clothes don’t need to cost a lot to look great. We want our clothes to last so we have invested in the quality of our fabrics so that you will be able to hand the clothes onto other children, which means that your money has been wisely spent too.

When you are not busy working, what do you like to do with the family to unwind and relax?

This Mothers Day my gift was an allotment so we’ll be spending most of our year digging, nurturing and growing our own food.

 Having two boys, what do you do for some well-deserved pampering time?

To be honest I don’t really have any pampering time, we live in the middle of the beautiful countryside so getting out for woodland walks with the boys is time well spent.

What’s your motto?

Live for today.

To shop online visit www.morrisons.co.uk.

For more kids clothing ideas see StyleNest’s roundup of the best neon clothing.