Lucy Sykes wraps up a meeting in her office in New York City's West Village. The conversation is all business—fabric choices, flight schedules to China—but the setting is strikingly casual. Sykes, 37, wears flip-flops and jeans; the furnishings include a well-worn sofa and stacks of file boxes. One floor up is the apartment she shares with her husband, banker Euan Rellie, and their 3-year-old son, Heathcliff (better known as Heathie).
Welcome to the home of Lucy Sykes Baby (LSB), a clothing line for infants and toddlers, and Lucy Sykes New York (LSNY), a children's collection. Launched in August 2004 (about a year after Heathie's birth), both labels are distinguished by Liberty prints, luxe but understated embellishments, and smartly tailored silhouettes—much like the designer's own wardrobe. "Parents like to express themselves through their kids," says the former fashion editor, who introduced a women's line in the spring of 2006. "I know I've got something right when a mommy says, 'Oh, make one for me!'"
Keen fashion instincts run in the family. Sykes's mother, Valerie Goad, designs super-traditional children's clothing in Europe. Her influence, combined with Sykes's desire for a career change that meshed well with motherhood, engendered LSB and LSNY. "As a fashion director, you're on a plane every week," she says. "I wanted to have some control in my life." Now her colleagues are close to home: Rellie is Sykes's business partner and investor, while sister Alice is marketing director.
Working steps from where she lives and setting her own hours (she says she feels most inspired to design at night), not to mention having a nanny during the week, has made juggling work and motherhood easier. But Sykes has also modified her lifestyle considerably since Heathie's birth, trading fancy restaurants for organic takeout and frequent trips to the hair salon for ponytails. "On the weekend, I prefer it to be just me, Euan, and Heathie, with greasy hair and sweats," Sykes says. "When you work and have a baby, you can't do everything. You have to make things simple."
