Vera's stunning images of polar bears set to feature on children's clothes

It was a picture of love that melted hearts around the world. When Siberian Times photographer Vera Salnitskaya captured the touching moment a three-month-old polar bear cuddled into her mother, it turned the cub into a global star. Newspapers and online media sites were inundated with glowing remarks from readers after showing our pictures of the pair snuggling into one another at Novosibirsk Zoo in April.

Now one of Europe’s biggest retail companies has chosen little Shilka and her mother to be the faces of one of its new range of clothes for babies and toddlers.

Their loving embrace has been reproduced on the front of a new all-in-one sleep suit for UK-based chain Mothercare, which has more than 1,000 stores worldwide.

A separate embroidered set of pyjamas, featuring a cartoon drawing of a polar bear and a penguin and coming complete with leggings, has also been created.

Being released in time for Christmas, both cost £8 (682 roubles) and are part of the store’s Christmas Icy Lux collection, which also features a penguin sleep suit.

They come in sizes for tiny new-borns up to 18-24 month olds but unfortunately they will not be available in Russia.

A spokeswoman for Mothercare said: 'Icy Lux will make hearts melt this winter with its cute ditsy embroidered penguin sleep suit. Wear with the chunky cable knit trim leggings for a super snuggly outfit. With photo prints continuing to be popular this season, this collection would not be complete without the adorable polar bear and baby bear photo print sleep suit.'

Shilka was just three-months-old when she stepped out in front of the public for the first time at the zoo. Vera was on hand to capture the moment – and what a moment it was.

Our photographer said that the love and blissful contentment on the face of both mother and cub was clear to see.

She said at the time: “It is a love so pure, the kind you can only dream about. Such love and tenderness. You look at them and just feel that these are the most perfect mother and daughter relations you have even seen. Even with the tiny bear’s habit of trying to bite her mother's leg, or the side of her body.'

It was following publication of the pictures in foreign media, including the MailOnline in the UK, that Mothercare approached Vera to use her images.