Space Cadet

If you flash 1,000 light years ahead, chances are you will find a fashion industry that is still captivated by outer space—and with good reason. Teeming with shooting stars, gleaming rockets, twinkling moons and mammoth planets, this real-life fantasy world elicits out-of-this-world designs season after season. From Saint Laurent’s simple star prints to the more readily available galactic print leggings that have become a mainstay on the fast fashion circuit, space is an abyss of inspiration. Another example? Both Preen and the Rodarte sisters coincidently sent models down their Fall ’14 runways in Star Wars-themed threads. All in all, it’s a superstar look sure to take kids’ fashion to infinity and beyond.

Tech Boom

When Harper’s Bazaar debuted a set of Fashion Week emojis earlier this year, complete with green tea, ear
cuff, stiletto and Bill Cunningham icons, the magazine sent fashionistas into a downloading frenzy. And this fall children’s designers are taking it up a notch with emoticon and text lingo-inspired fashion. A Pew Research study reveals that 51 percent of 12-year-olds own a cell- phone, which means there is a whole lot of LOL, OMG and ROTFL going on between “graming” and games of Candy Crush. And with the market’s profusion of tween-friendly wristlets, wireless speakers and chic yet protective phone cases (#stylemeetsfunction), staying plugged in to the next must-have trend has never been easier.