How Claudia Li-Gjojonegoro Juggles Raising A Baby And Starting A Childrenswear Brand

New mum and founder of childrenswear brand Children of Luna, Claudia Li-Djojonegoro shares how she uses her business experience and applies it to motherhood, and vice versa

Growing up among the stylish denizens of Hong Kong, Claudia Li‑Djojonegoro always had a heart for fashion. Between the classic and elegant style of her grandmother and her mother’s wardrobe full of clothing by edgy, contemporary designers, she saw first-hand the importance of dressing well.

Now, as a mother herself, she hopes to pass on this love of fashion to her one-year-old daughter—starting with her childrenswear label, Children of Luna.

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Before starting her own business, Li‑Djojonegoro spent almost a decade working in Singapore’s fashion industry, managing projects at the Textile and Fashion Federation, organising four editions of Singapore Fashion Week, promoting home‑grown designers at Paris and Milan’s fashion weeks, and introducing overseas brands to the local market. But it was her time spent working closely with aspiring designers during the Audi Star Creation fashion design competition from 2009 to 2013 that inspired the business management graduate to create something of her own.

Throughout the four cycles of the competition, she got a front-row seat of the journeys of some of Singapore’s now celebrated designers, such as Carolyn Kan and Marilyn Tan. “I saw the mistakes they made as well as their successes. I also understood the difference between a great idea on paper and one that made good business sense,” she shares.

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And it was through her own journey into motherhood that she saw a gap in the market for stylish, functional and comfortable childrenswear. “I’ve heard from fellow mothers that it’s hard to find stylish clothes their babies didn’t find intolerable, regardless of the price point,” shares Li‑Djojonegoro.

She points out that in hot and humid Singapore, certain fabrics, even 100 per cent cotton, feel stiff and unbreathable for babies due to their delicate skin. So her goal with Children of Luna is to prioritise comfort, style and function—the sartorial trifecta—ensuring that her cherubic clients and their parents are satisfied.

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Above Children of Luna is a premium childrenswear label for new born babies upto 8-year-olds

She launched the brand in 2020, at a rather momentous time as she and her husband Matthew Djojonegoro, a co‑founder of his own e-sports entertainment business, were expecting their first child. The new mother quips how she now has two babies: a business to grow and a daughter to raise. “I can handle a lot of high‑level stress at work, but motherhood is a totally different ball game,” she lets on.

Even so, being a mother has added a new dimension to how she runs her business. “My daughter is my muse and mentor, as I’m completely in awe of the fact that she’s always learning something new every week, and I know I can do the same,” she says.

Above Li-Djojonegoro designs all the prints for Children of Luna

Her new role also influenced her brand in other ways. When it came to naming the label, she gravitated towards symbols that represent the universal journey of motherhood and eventually decided on Luna, which is Spanish for moon and represents the goddess of motherhood and new beginnings. Meanwhile, the motifs on the clothes, branding and packaging, such as the stork, floral blooms and hot-air balloons, reflect her wishes for her children. “The hot-air balloon, for example, symbolises the freedom to explore,” she elaborates.

Above Li-Djojonegoro with her one-year-old daughter

Li‑Djojonegoro will have you know that she has greater ambitions for Children of Luna. “We want to become a collective; connecting parents and children everywhere with a common thread,” she says. She plans to expand into women’s clothing and maternity wear, and potentially transform the label into a lifestyle brand. “Just as a mother is many things to a child, that’s what my brand will be for mothers: a shared space for all parental needs.”

There’s more to Li‑Djojonegoro’s vision than building a business empire. “The essence of the brand is my wish to build something for—and with—my daughter, as a shared legacy to pass on for generations,” she says. While this legacy is one for the books, it also embodies the identity Li‑Djojonegoro hopes to create for herself. “Building your own business is never easy—the same can be said of raising a child—but the process in which you find yourself and find meaning through what you love makes it all worthwhile.”

The mumpreneur would have it no other way.

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claudia li-djojonegoro children of luna childrenswear brand premium childrenswear female entreprenuer

Tatler Asia

Lessons From Mumpreneur Claudia Li-Gjojonegoro on Raising a Baby and Building a Brand