Miffy the Design Icon: How this Rabbit Hopped From Children’s Books to Fashion and Interiors
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Hi, I’m Sandra,
If you're in awe of stunning interiors and crazy about home decor, you’re in the right place. As an interior writer with a background in styling and photography for leading magazines around the globe, as well as an avid home renovator, I am here to help all you interior enthusiasts to style and decorate your home with ease and confidence, like a pro.
On this blog, I’ll be sharing insightful articles packed with advice, tips, and ideas for home styling and decoration, along with inspiring tours of beautifully styled spaces. Having styled countless homes with very different interiors, I know it’s the final touches and thoughtful curating that make a space magazine-worthy, regardless of whether it’s an architectural masterpiece or filled with high-end furniture. And, rather than focus on one particular interior look or style, I aim to open your eyes to a wide variety so you feel inspired, not limited. Ultimately, I’ll show you how a little bit of styling can be transformational and take your home to a whole new level.In this week’s blog post, as it’s Christmas week, I thought I’d feature something rather fun: Miffy, who leapt from the pages of children’s books to become a design and fashion icon.
MEET MIFFY THE BUNNY WHO’S BOTH THE CHILDREN’S FAVOURITE AND A GLOBAL DESIGN ICON
Pictured here at The Conservatorium Hotel Amsterdam by artist Raphaël Hermans Photos: Sandra van Aalst at The Conservatorium Amsterdam
Miffy has hopped from the pages of Dutch children's books to become a global design object and fashion icon, and can now be found making an appearance on everything from wool blankets and streetwear to Converse trainers and Mulberry handbags. As I recently bumped into Miffy in Amsterdam, and as her appeal has moved to a very wide demographic, I thought I'd explore her trajectory a little more, finishing off the post with a Miffy festive decoration we can all hang on the Christmas tree.
Miffy first came into my life 20-odd years ago when my boys were small and, being half Dutch, were introduced very early on to this cute little rabbit through books, nursery rhymes and soft toys. Nijntje is her original name, which she is still known as in the Netherlands. It’s a shortened version of Konijn, which means rabbit, with a 'tje' on the end. Konijntje means 'little rabbit', and it was shortened to Nijntje. In Dutch you often add ‘tje’ to the end of a friend's or child’s name as a sort of term of endearment. Nijntje was later adapted to Miffy for international readers.
Nijntje began life in 1955, when Dutch graphic designer Dick Bruna sketched a little rabbit to entertain his young son. Since then, over thirty Miffy books have been published and more than 100 million copies sold worldwide. There is also a children’s TV series and a film. At home we had several books and toys, and I even remember singing a Nijntje nursery rhyme to the boys.
Back in October, I visited the Conservatorium Hotel in Amsterdam and was greeted by a 1.8 metre tall bronze Miffy installation as a statement centrepiece in the hotel. This sculpture, along with other Miffy variations, was created by artist Raphaël Hermans for the Miffy Art Parade in 2015 - a public art project celebrating 60 years of Miffy. The Conservatorium acquired bronze Miffy from Christie’s auction house, with all proceeds going to Unicef, and it is now a permanent piece in the hotel. During the same trip I bumped into another life-sized Miffy, this time covered from head to toe in diamonds. Across the globe, there are Miffy collaborations with high-end fashion and accessories in high street stores. Miffy has also crossed over to interiors and homeware, with wool throws and a Miffy lamp.
So, how did Miffy go from being a children's character to a design and fashion sensation?Well, she made her interior debut in 2006 when Studio Mr Maria made a large, sculptural Miffy lamp that was sold through interior design shops rather than toy shops. In 2011, Miffy moved into the realm of fashion when the Centraal Museum in Utrecht ran an exhibition - Nijntje in de Mode/Miffy in Fashion - where both Dutch and international fashion designers were asked to create dresses for a 40cm statue of her. Designers couldn’t get enough of Fashion Muse Miffy, with sneaker brand Converse and skatewear company Pop Trading jointly producing a capsule collection of trainers embroidered with her motif. Miffy can also be found on Vans shoes. 2023 saw the Lunar New Year as the year of the rabbit, which is when the collaboration with fashion brand Tommy Hilfiger first started. The result was a collection that playfully meets preppy and streetwear, with clothes and accessories featuring illustrations and outlines of Miffy in Hilfiger’s signature red, white, and blue colour palette. Since then, you can find Miffy on Baggu bags and laptop sleeves, and Uniqlo's graphic T-shirts. Read on to find out what else Miffy has been up to.
MIFFY THE DIAMOND RABBIT AND HIGH-END FASHION ICON
A short stroll from the Rijksmuseum, where you’ll find the Van Goghs and Rembrandts, I stumbled across another Dutch masterpiece – Diamond Miffy. This time she was glistening from head to toe in what looked like diamonds, as a statue in front of the Royal Coster Diamonds building. Designed by artist Fabrice Hünd, she’s made up mainly of shimmering, diamond-like silver and colourful mosaics. As well as being adorned in diamonds, Miffy attracted the high-end luxury brand Mulberry, who launched a limited-edition Mulberry x Miffy collection. She appeared as a printed figure on a capsule collection of bags including the Bayswater bag, as well as specially designed totes and small accessories such as key rings and phone cases.
Photo credit: Sandra van Aalst
FROM THE NURSERY TO THE DISCO
During my trip to Amsterdam, I stayed at a very cool hotel, The St Adams, a Mecca for music with record players and albums in every room. As I walked into the reception area, Miffy was there waiting to greet me, this time in the shape of a disco ball-style head surrounded by cute soft crochet models. These smaller Miffys looked like little mascots next to her shiny silver head and are also for babies and children. Let’s not forget that there is a huge market out there for babies and pre-schoolers. While we grown-ups might be dressed in Nijntje pyjamas, cosying up under Miffy blankets, the original Nijntje/Miffy is more popular than ever with an entire universe available for little ones. From wooden stacking toys and puzzles to play with, kids can also happily watch shows like Miffy and Friends and Miffy’s Adventures Big and Small, as well as reading all the storybooks.
Photo credit: Sandra van Aalst
MIFFY DESIGN LAMPS AS STATEMENT PIECES
Dutch studio Mr Maria started producing the popular Miffy lamps in 2006, including the extra-large 80cm floor lamp, marketed as a charming statement piece for any room. The light is sold in home stores and favoured by design-conscious grown-ups as playful interior lighting, but the smaller version is also popular for children's rooms.
Photo credit: Nedgis
MIFFY HOMEWARE BEYOND THE NURSERY
I decided to search for Miffy home accessories online to find out what was available for our homes in addition to the light. I came across this luxurious soft cream throw in 100% pure New Zealand wool, made by Dutch company Maison Deux. It’s also reversible, with a soft grey on one side and cream on the other. In addition to this throw, there is also a range of cotton Miffy blankets for babies by Jollein, along with gorgeous accessories.
Photocredit: Maison Deux
MIFFY MUGS AND MORE
Cath Kidston is known for her beautiful hand-drawn florals on cups, aprons, handbags and more, and used Miffy in her designs, producing a few gorgeous pieces like the cup pictured here. It’s been described as an ‘artful merging of illustrative worlds’. Like most celebrities, Miffy has a top-to-toe body range with hand creams, body lotion and other cosmetics, with the packaging and product bottles also designed by Cath Kidston. You can find Cath Kidston x Miffy cups and tableware, as well as cosmetics, all at Next.
Photo credit: Next
BAUBLE MIFFY
Finally, I thought, as it’s the festive season, it would be fun to end with a Miffy Christmas tree decoration. Here is bauble Miffy in a golden-yellow dress painted with Dutch tulips in her red and green signature colours. You can find Miffy glass baubles at Abode Living.
Photo credit: Abode Living
WHERE TO BUY MIFFY PRODUCTS
Mulberry www.mulberry.com/gb/miffy
Tommy Hilfiger - this collection no longer sold on their website but you could look out for the clothing on Vinted or Ebay.
Pop & Miffy by Vans - https://poptradingcompany.com/products/pop-vans-miffy-sk8-hi-blue
Baggu - https://baggu.com/collections/miffy
Maison Deax - https://maisondeux.com/
Cath Kidson at Next - https://www.next.co.uk
Jollein - https://jollein.co.uk/collections/jollein-x-miffy?
Mr Maria Light - https://www.nedgis.com/en/q/brand--mr-maria
Christmas bauble at Abode Living - http://www.abodeliving.co.uk
LET’S SUM UP
I hope you enjoyed finding out a little bit more about Miffy, her history, and all the brands and products she’s been involved with. If you are a big fan, you can visit Utrecht, where you’ll find the Miffy Museum and shop. There are also “de winkel van nijntje” stores in Amsterdam. Alternatively, you can also visit Miffy’s own website for news and products at https://www.miffy.com
