Casual Fridays: The Kids Are Alright

Forget who sat where and who accidentally flashed a nip at New York Fashion Week. All I care about is that little blue-headed child.

13 year-old Tavi Gevinson was arguably the belle of the NYC Fashion Week ball, but she wasn't the only child sashaying around the Big Apple. Racked decided to one-up Tavi by bringing a 5 year-old to the runway. Impish Katie critiqued what she saw by writing "Hate", "Love", or "Like" in giant child's scrawl on her program. She made sure to punctuate her point with oblong-shaped hearts and stars.

Children were supposedly the "in" accessory at this year's Fashion Week, much to many fashion curmudgeon's dismay. There is no denying the fact that the cool kids are actually kids and it looks like they're here to stay.

Let's take a look at teen fashion blogging sensations Jane Aldridge and Bryanboy. 17 year-old Jane Aldridge of Sea of Shoes already has her own line of footwear at Urban Outfitters, was invited to the Crillon Ball in Paris, and has over 17,000 followers on Twitter. The newly 20-year-old Bryanboy now gets front row access to fashion shows and had inspired a Marc Jacobs handbag. Everywhere you look, a new fashion blog pops up created by a fragile looking teenager with impeccable taste living on the Canadian prairies or in a small Southern town with very good thrift stores.

And lest we forget the fashionable children outside of the blogosphere (did I really just use that word)? Who doesn't love Mad Men creator, Matthew Weiner's son, Arlo? The fashionable byproduct of a threesome between Cary Grant, Prince, and Willy Wonka. This kid has more style in his silk cravat than in my entire closet.

Lately there has been a lot of hatin' on these young visionaries. Fashion commentators having been questioning the necessity and criticizing the validity of pubescent fashionistas. I'll admit, I myself had to go through the five stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance to swallow this pill. A 13 year-old that makes witty quips about 30 Rock AND wears my Great Aunt Stella's eyeglasses? How dare she! My roommate had to pry me off of our second story balcony when I learned aforementioned five year-old Katie scored a $350,000 book deal.

One may argue that these kids have no concept of what fashion truly is. How could they already be at a place that has taken many fashion journalist years to achieve? Is it novelty? Maybe. But in an industry that often takes itself seriously, what's wrong with some youthful perspective? These kids will be the future of fashion, so why not involve them now?

What are your thoughts?

Lauren Modery, an administrative goddess at Austin's Super!Alright! creative media firm, is a part-time contributor to Alternative Apparel's blog with "Casual Fridays,” a column covering the culture and lifestyle of the indie urbanite. Get more of Lauren's daily pandering at www.hipstercrite.com.

Comments

[kambra rochelle]

honestly, i think you're either born with a good eye, or you're not. who's to say that there's a certain age when you suddenly have the education and experience to use that eye for all things aesthetically pleasing?

maybe i'm just biased because growing up i was always the kid that 'dressed weird' and got picked on for it . . .

[Adley Hemphill]

cool!

[Chrissie G.]

Wow, I definitely got into the wrong business. Those kids are very smart. Haha.

[Brenda Y]

Wow! That is crazy! The U.S. is too youth obsessed!

[Jo]

A little bored of this topic already. Bloggers are bloggers writers are writers, they are just crossing paths right now and the fashion peeps are just adapting to the technology now. Its like Stylist, anyone with an interest in clothes can call themselves one, it's who really has the goods to back it up.

[CL]

great post! (but kids are still creepy)

[KM]

I love kid fashion! I just bought a pair of jogging pants made from the skin of an 8 year old. Soooooo comfy!

[Tiff]

OMG OMG Tavi!!! <333

[Sophie]

Tavi is amazing.