September is just around the corner and across the globe stores are buzzing with back-to-school shoppers. Pencil cases are being upgraded. Gym kits purchased. Feet measured. But this time around the standard-issue school uniform simply won't do.
Thanks partly to a cultural shift that promotes “younger ‘style icons' such as Lourdes Ciccone, Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus, and Amba and Assisi Jagger,” says Averyl Oates, Harvey Nichols' fashion director, and partly to the recession, which has parents assuaging their own frustrated desires by continuing to purchase (slightly less) expensive branded goods for their children, the “tween” (pre-teen) and the fully fledged teenager have steadily emerged as significant and valuable consumers. Indeed, this month the fashion magazine Love, has devoted its entire second issue to teenage stars, including Taylor Momsen (16, star of Gossip Girl), Coco Sumner (19, child of Gordon aka Sting), singer Taylor Swift, 20, actor Kristen Stewart, 19, and Miley Cyrus, 16.
Little wonder that fashion brands, hyper-aware of the paparazzi attention devoted to the new stars and their influence, have been wooing them not only to wear their clothes, but help make them. Emma Watson, 19, fronts Burberry's campaign this autumn, and fashion blogs are abuzz with rumours she will design a clothing line for the fair trade brand People Tree; this month Cyrus teamed with Max Azria to create a junior collection for Wal-Mart; while another Gossip Girl star, Leighton Meester, 23, picked up her Teen Choice Award clad in Louis Vuitton, and the fashion credits in the hit series in which she stars run from Burberry to Valentino.