Oilily & me
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Oilily 50 years
In 2013, Oilily celebrated her 50th anniversary. This is a significant milestone for the Dutch fashion house, which spent a long time fighting the establishment when it was first set up in 1963. Back then Oilily’s collections were simply too colourful and imaginative for the general public. Yet, despite the initial hesitancy, over the last 50 years Oilily has grown into a distinctive lifestyle brand with many fans worldwide.
Discover how Oilily got where it is today. Have fun!
OILILY & ME
To make it even more fun you can add yourself to our timeline, by uploading a photo of you in Oilily wear or using an Oilily product. Maybe a photo of you in your brand new Oilily coat. Or a photo of you taking notes in an authentic Oilily diary. Anything goes, as long as you and Oilily are both in the photo.
Oilily's new office: the grand Opening (1991)
Celebration print
This vivid pattern shows iconic and memorable elements of Oilily prints throughout the years. Including children's portraits of the founding fathers of Oilily, Willem and Marieke Olsthoorn. It's our way to celebrate our 50th anniversary.2014 - Oilily's Full color Combi-buggy
In 2014, Oilily will launch a full-colour combi-buggy that folds into a compact and lightweight easy-to-carry package. There are three different models to choose from: OILILYRED, OILILYYELLOW and OILILYBLUE.2013 - Oilily Bikes
Oilily designed a bike collection for the Dutch bicycle brand Sparta, applying its vision of fashion to two wheels and a frame. Oilily drew its inspiration from the subculture of New York bike couriers. All so-called 'Fixies' are uniquely customized by their owners, who can add colour to the functional parts of their bike. Oilily's interpretation resulted in four unique concepts that make their owners stand out from the crowd. Read more1998 - Oilily bags
Given the success of the Oilily Children's and Women's Wear collections, the introduction of a bags collection was an obvious next step. Bags are one of the most popular Oilily products to date and are in demand worldwide.1990 - Oilily shawls
One of Oilily's best-selling products was its Paisley print Orient scarf. The design was inspired by a similar scarf that an Indian factory worker wore wrapped around his head and cheeks to soothe his toothache.Redheads
Oilily decides to use redheads to model its clothes. The vibrancy of their red hair complements the Oilily designs perfectly and is also seen as being a bit cheeky - just like Oilily!1993 - Douwe
Meet Douwe, the Olsthoorn family's pet terrier. He was such a beloved member of the family that he made it onto a photo print on one of Oilily's best-selling women's sweaters in the 1990s.1990 - A lovely brand with a rebellious spirit
Oilily's completely new vision of children's wear won the hearts of millions of people throughout the world. The brand's rebellious spirit was especially appreciated by celebrities. Jerry Hall, ex-wife of Rolling Stone Mick Jagger, visited the store in Alkmaar to buy clothes for their daughter. John Travolta, Madonna, Lauryn Hill, Michael Jackson, Nicole Kidman, Bill Cosby, Michelle Pfeiffer and Uma Thurman also dressed their children in Oilily, while Susan Sarandon and Julia Roberts were famous ambassadors of the women's collections.1994 - Time is on Oilily's side
Oilily watches were the most colourful wrist watches that had ever been made and they were irresistible. The Exclusive Oilily Stores sold a lot of watches. At the moment our collection doesn't include watches. But who knows what will happen in the future.1990 - Oilily stationery
In the early 1990s, following the success of the other new Oilily product groups, there was strong demand for Oilily stationery. The school agenda was a huge hit and became the most popular school item for children and young teenagers. Oilily was evolving into a lifestyle brand.1986 - Like daughter, like mother: Oilily Women's Wear
Some mothers were so impressed by the clothes Oilily was making for children that they started buying the largest sizes to wear themselves - much to the distress of the designers, who thought it looked awful. Oilily Women's Wear was introduced to put pay this trend.1987 - Oilily Jeans
Oilily Jeans was introduced to add a more casual and boyish look to the collections. It was no surprise that moms embraced the product and bought it for their little boys and girls. Combined with the colorful pieces from the regular collection, it was a match made in heaven.1989 - Shades for the little ones, OH YEAH!
The introduction of Oilily's eau de parfum for children was such a success that Oilily decided to add another fun product to its range: sunglasses for children. Never underestimate the power of cool!1989 - Shades for the little ones, OH YEAH!
The introduction of Oilily's eau de parfum for children was such a success that Oilily decided to add another fun product to its range: sunglasses for children. Never underestimate the power of cool!1981 - Oilily sponsors 'Kinderen voor Kinderen' on national tv
'Kinderen voor Kinderen' is a children's choir formed by the Dutch public broadcasting group VARA. When Oilily started dressing the choir in its children's wear collections, the brand became a household name in the Netherlands.1989 - Oilily wins the 'Grand Seigneur' award
The Grand Seigneur award is the most prestigious fashion award in the Netherlands. It is presented to individuals and companies that make a unique and lasting contribution to the world of fashion. Past winners include H&M, Mexx and trend watcher Lidewij Edelkoort. Oilily was awarded the Grand Seigneur award for its fabulous children's fashion.1980 - Olly becomes Oilily
The Swiss baby wear manufacturer Molli forced Olly to change its name. With the addition of two 'i's, Olly became Oilily. A playful new logo was designed to ensure that people would remember the new name.1982 - The opening of the first Exclusive Oilily Store
Oilily was doing well, yet one thing was missing: a stage. So the concept of an Exclusive Oilily Store was conceived and designed and the first store was opened in Alkmaar. (Where else?) The Exclusive Oilily Store reflected the personality of the brand: it was exclusive, surprising and playful. It proved an irresistible concept.1973 - Move to the Cheese Market Square
As Oilily grew more and more successful the design team was expanded. Next step was a bigger office. The company moved to an office at the Cheese Market Square in Alkmaar, in the historic heart of the city.1965 - The very first design team
The people who worked at Olly were intractable, headstrong and unconventional. And like the founders, Willem and Marieke Olsthoorn, they were passionate about creating exciting and surprising children's wear.1966 - Olly
One of the very first woven neck labels.1968 - The first breakthrough
Rather than taking their cue from trends, expectations or sales figures, the designers at Olly made clothes that they thought looked good. These so-called 'Troika' coats were inspired by the motion picture 'Dr Zhivago' released in 1965, starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie. They were immediately noticed by the Dutch media.1964 - Children's Wear in the sixties
In the 1960s children were dressed like little adults and their clothes were primarily grey, white and black. Oilily was the first brand to make the child's world the focus of the creative process. This resulted in a spectacular vibrant and playful style nobody had ever seen before.2013 - Oilily Eau de Parfum 2013
To mark its anniversary year, this fall Oilily will relaunch the popular perfume originally introduced in the 1980s. Same fragrance, new look. The design of the bottle was inspired by the ingredients in the perfume and is a beautiful update of the iconic perfume by Oilily.2001 - Oilily Porcelain
In 2001 Oilily introduced a full scale porcelain collection. The colorful ‘dotted’ concept was an instant success. It is still sold in The Netherlands up until today.1989 - Oilily launches eau de parfum for children
Oilily introduced the first ever fragrance for children. Even more unique was the fact that the perfume was created by 50 children from across the world - all members of the Oilily fan club.1945
Marieke wore a special dress on Liberation Day (The Netherlands), May 5th 1945. Her mother, a seamstress, loved to make outfits for her daughter and that made that Marieke was a special little girl in school. It defined her style and later on inspired Marieke to dress her own kids in a nonconventional way.1963
Oilily was founded by Marieke and Willem Olsthoorn in 1963 as Olly - after the nickname of Willem.1986 - The first brand with a fan club: Oilily Club
Oilily Magazine quickly became a collector's item. Children all over the world started collecting the magazine and wrote letters to Oilily asking for more products (that was back in the days before internet). Oilily wanted to reward its loyal fans, so it created an Oilily fan club especially for them. The Oilily Club quickly attracted over 80,000 members worldwide.1982 - A vibrant, playful and spectacular signature
By the early 1980s Marieke Olsthoorn had developed her own distinct signature style. It involved tremendous use of colour and pattern, high-quality fabrics, a rich mix of different cultural influences, unlikely combinations of different materials and playful details. Oilily was ground-breakingly new and exciting.1983 - Oilily launches a new phenomenon: Oilily Magazine
How could Oilily persuade retailers to stock the complete Oilily collection and simultaneously reach a broader public without having to spend millions on advertising and marketing? The idea was simple. Oilily created a magazine that shopkeepers could give away to their customers. Within a year sales had more than doubled. These days every self-respecting fashion label has its own magazine, but back then it was entirely new.
