When Céline Dion isn’t performing at Caesars Palace for her Las Vegas residency, she’s spending time with her three sons: twins Eddy and Nelson, 8, and René-Charles, 17.
“The highlight of my day is always being with my children,” the 50-year-old Canadian music icon tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview for the latest issue, on newsstands this week.
And her boys continue to surprise her. “Even though my young sons are twins, they are so different,” she says.
This is particularly true when it comes to fashion: “If one likes to wear a certain shirt, the other one wants something completely different. They’re searching for their own individuality. It’s important for their emotional growth.”
Dion is a big supporter of using fashion as a tool for self-expression and encouraging children to become who they want to be. It’s one of the reasons she partnered with the children’s clothing line Nununu to create her own gender-neutral collection called Celinununu, out now.
She first learned of Nununu when she bought pieces for her sons, whom she shared with her late husband and longtime manager René Angélil. Angélil died of cancer in January 2016 at the age of 73.
“I’ve been approached by many children’s companies, but Nununu is the only one I considered,” she tells PEOPLE. “My kids love the clothes and I love what the line is about: positive change and promoting individuality.”
After reaching out to Nununu founders Iris Adler and Tali Milchberg about a year ago, Dion created a capsule that includes over 70 stereotype-free styles for kids aged zero to 14Y that launched last week. The color palette is free of blue or pink, and instead includes yellow, gray, black and white.
The “Because You Loved Me” singer announced her new endeavor with a video that showed her breaking into a nursery and changing the pink and blue outfits on newborns into Celinununu designs.
“You see me going into a nursery with all these babies who are dressed in pink for girls, blue for boys, and we magically transform their clothing into Celinununu clothing, removing the typical stereotype of pink and blue,” she explains. “It’s meant to be a positive message delivered in a lighthearted way.”
As for working with the adorable tots in the video, that was a delight, Dion recalls: “I didn’t have much time to spend time with the babies, but they were all adorable and it took me back to those precious moments when my boys were in the cradle.”
“We’re offering other choices and letting parents know you don’t have to follow stereotypes,” the star continues. “It’s great to have options. Every parent should do what they feel is right for them and for their children.”
Of course, two of her biggest fans are her twins, who wore the designs in the image above. “My kids love the line, and they have all of it,” Dion says. “They don’t have one favorite thing.”
Most pieces in the collection fall in the range of $50 to $100, though there are some higher-priced items — like a leather jacket for kids that costs $290.
When her Las Vegas residency ends in June, she’ll have plenty more time to spend with her children as well — and new projects.
“I love doing the show so much, and I’m very grateful to be able to do it. But I’m also excited for the new things to come after it ends,” Dion says.
Any hints? “There are a lot of things in the works,” she teases. “I can’t talk about all of them yet, but I am in the studio working on a new English album. Hopefully it will be out sometime in 2019.”
