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It's always a circus at The Grove on a Saturday, but this weekend there were actual animals involved. Outside Nordstrom on the lawn, a group of parents, children in tow, lined up for a cute dog petting zoo. It was all part of the Los Angeles preview party for Diane von Furstenberg's soon-to-launch collaboration with GapKids.
Inside the Gap, publicists, journalists and camera crews milled around displays of DVF's colorful prints. Upstairs, there was another small petting zoo where one dog was getting inappropriately frisky with another. Before the celebrity guests arrived (Molly Sims, Milla Jovovich, Alyson Hannigan, Tiffani Thiessen and more turned out to shop) we snagged a moment with the legendary designer to find out what she likes about visiting our city: "What I love about LA is all of my children and my grandchildren live here. And also because the light is so beautiful and you can hike. I love to hike. I hike everywhere—I hike in Malibu, I hike in Brush Canyon."
As for how the collaboration came about, she said: "Gap came to me and they asked me to do it. Normally I always say no to these children's things but then for some reason I said yes. And I'm very happy I said yes because I'm very proud—I think it's very cute."
The clothes, which we be available in stores and online March 15 for girls sizes newborn to 14, are signature DVF: colorful and covered in prints. There's even a mini wrap dress. Because it's Gap, the line is affordably priced from $20 to $120.
· DVF Hearts GapKids [Gap]