Demand Is Rising for Genderless Kids Apparel

Credit: Getty Images by Natalie Behring

We've covered the genderless apparel market for a few years, but it's mostly applied to adult clothing thus far. Recently, retail has been churning out more unisex options, and now it looks like the shift is trickling down to genderless kids apparel.

According to Glossy, millennial and Gen Z parents are looking to outfit their children under the age of 12 in more gender-neutral looks.

“More childrenswear brands are targeting millennial parents, as the generation now accounts for the majority of new parents,” said Ayako Homma, consultant at Euromonitor International, according to Glossy. “Millennial parents appear to be more open-minded when it comes to gender, and prefer to give their children more clothing options in different colors and styles, without being constrained by their gender.”

That was the main motivation for two Diapers.com employees to start gender-neutral kids brand Primary in 2015. Christina Carbonell and Galyn Bernard were frustrated when they perused retail displays and saw the division between the pink and blue options. When Bernard's daughters sought out options that were not pink or purple, she had to meander over to the boys department.

“We were longing for a different brand in the market that felt more like brands we loved in the market when we were growing up, like Benetton. We wanted simplicity and colors without logos,  slogans and sequins,” she said. “Everything today is so prescriptive. We wanted to offer a place where there’s a rainbow of colors for every kid, and the pieces are super soft and comfortable.”

And it turns out, Bernard was not alone in her quest for genderless kids apparel. This year, the Primary's genderless kids apparel has huge waitlists for new items. In February, there was a 6,000-plus waitlist for the company's rainbow heart pajamas.

Other brands are following suit, as well. Cos designed a line of genderless baby clothing, and Céline Dion even created a gender neutral line.

Additionally, the kids clothing market in general is showing no signs of slowing. According to Glossy, market intelligence agency Mintel predicted that the U.S. children's clothing market will reach $40.6 billion by 2023. With more millennials and Gen Z-ers entering parenthood, it's safe to assume the demand for genderless kids clothing will only continue to grow.