Human beings have always been attached to previous life moments. Who doesn't feel their heart warm when encountering a certain smell, eating a comfort food, or seeing an object that transports them to simpler times when everything seemed better and more promising?
This is the famous nostalgia. In marketing, it has been a sales tool across different fields, and, for the fashion industry specifically, one of its most-used strategies.
Y2K, boho, 90s... Fashion is a master at reviving old trends, and it does so by tapping into emotion. And today, as consumers navigate a world of constant crises, many are (yet again) increasingly seeking comfort in the familiar embrace of the past.
That’s why it’s no surprise that WGSN's forecasters dubbed 2025 the era of the “Forever Young Adult,” noting how a resurgence of cultural nostalgia is reshaping consumer behavior.
From toys to film choices, the polycrisis is leading adults to invest more and more in nostalgia and children’s items as a source of comfort - WGSN
The forecaster pointed out "kidult" as a main term in this consumer behavior analysis, representing one of the most significant consumer profiles in 2025.
As the term suggests, kidults are adults who approach consumption with a child-like mindset, seeking products that trigger their nostalgia and recreate the comfort of childhood, a time with fewer worries.
But what does this mean for fashion? It means a lot. As mentioned earlier, fashion has always ridden the nostalgia wave, and now is the perfect time for brands to navigate it more intelligently and creatively, with potential for significant results.
Moreover, this isn’t just another retro revival, but rather an invitation to design for emotional connection, cultural memory, and pure joy.
So keep reading as we xplore how nostalgia and the kidult trend can be thoughtfully woven into fashion branding and design, all while staying true to core values and transparency.
Why Nostalgia Is Making a Comeback
It’s no coincidence that nostalgia is surging now.
We live in what some call a “permacrisis”, which has left many young adults delaying traditional milestones and craving the comfort of familiarity.
This mindset has been growing for quite some time. A 2024 WGSN report highlighted "Memory Makers" as a key consumer profile: adults who are officially "adulting" but seek to anchor themselves to the past because it provides stability in an otherwise unstable world.
This response is entirely natural. During periods of stress or uncertainty, people instinctively seek comfort in memories and products from simpler times. As Juli Lennett, VP and toys industry advisor at research firm Circana, explained in a Marketing Brew article:
When there are times of stress... consumers do tend to lean into when they were children.
This emotional context is powering a wave of nostalgia across industries, and fashion is no exception.
For fashion brands, nostalgia’s comeback isn’t just about reprinting vintage logos or reviving Y2K styles. It runs deeper: it’s about tapping into the emotional resonance of bygone eras.
WGSN notes that Millennials and Gen Z are finding comfort by “rekindling experiences from their childhoods through play”. In fashion, this might translate to designs that remind people of their happiest memories.
We've been witnessing this trend surge throughout the industry. The popularity of Labubu toys as accessories in luxury fashion demonstrates how this phenomenon is reshaping consumer behaviors.
Research shows that consumers are gravitating toward these little demon dolls as both an escape mechanism and a form of self-soothing in our increasingly complex world.
However, this trend is also part of a larger 'comfort buying' phenomenon, where people purchase items at premium prices purely for emotional relief.
Labubu perfectly exemplifies this intersection of luxury branding, high price points, nostalgia, and kidult appeal, making it an ideal case study for how emotional consumption drives purchasing decisions.
The key here is understanding that emotion is driving not only this trend, but many other surging in the industry. In fact, WGSN’s Future Consumer insights show that about 70% of consumer decisions are driven by emotional factors.
That’s why nostalgia marketing works so well. Because it stirs genuine feelings, a sense of safety, joy, or community that comes with remembering “the good old days.”
Adding another layer to this analysis, the new "Forever Young Adult" report also highlights that youthfulness is no longer defined by age: people in their 30s and beyond proudly embrace "youthful" interests.
This is an open door for fashion brands to create with a bit of whimsy and sentimentality, without alienating adult customers. Keep reading to understand how.
What #Kidults Could Mean for Emerging Brands
As we’ve seen, alongside nostalgia, the “kidult” consumer has emerged as a powerful demographic. At WGSN, analysts define kidults as “adults that shop like children”, meaning they buy toys, games, and playful products for their own enjoyment.
These are adults (spanning ages 18 to even 99) who might be streaming cartoons after work, collecting action figures, or rocking Hello Kitty sneakers on the street. They have adult spending power, but childlike enthusiasm for the things that spark joy. Crucially, kidults are seeking emotional connection in their purchases, and they’re willing to spend on it.
For emerging fashion brands, the rise of ‘kidults’ is an exciting (and promising) opportunity, because it’s rooted in generational psychology and a bit of escapism. Many adults are, in a way, reclaiming the playfulness they weren’t allowed or able to indulge in earlier.
This speaks to a larger desire for authentic happiness and stress relief. For brands this is the opportunity to offer products with a sense of play, nostalgia, or whimsy are tapping directly into this desire for comfort and fun.
The kidult economy is also proving to have serious staying power. In the toy sector, it’s the fastest-growing age demographic, toy purchases by adults have jumped in recent years.
While that stat is about toys, the implication for fashion is clear: adults are openly embracing playful, fandom-driven, or nostalgic products for themselves.
We see it in streetwear collaborations with cartoon franchises, adults wearing bright “kidcore” color palettes, and the popularity of items like light-up sneakers or novelty purses among grown-ups.
Image: LOEWE x Studio Ghibli collaboration featuring characters from "Spirited Away" (2022) - This luxury fashion partnership exemplifies how high-end brands are successfully incorporating nostalgic animation into their designs to appeal to kidult consumers. Image credit: Koktail Magazine
For emerging brands, catering to kidults means striking a balance.
Authenticity is critical: this audience can sense pandering. They aren’t looking to relive childhood exactly as it was. Rather, they want an elevated, self-aware twist on nostalgic favorites.
The goal is to evoke the feeling of joy and wonder, while still delivering a product that meets adult expectations. Done right, this builds an emotional bond. Keep on reading to get step-by-step insights.
Branding That Balances Play and Purpose
As we were tapping into, incorporating nostalgia and kidult energy extends to branding and storytelling.
How a brand presents itself (through visuals, tone of voice, campaigns) can ingeniously blend playfulness with purpose. The goal is to weave nostalgia into the brand identity in a way that feels uplifting and fun, yet still aligns with the brand’s core values and message.
How can brands execute this strategy effectively? Drawing lessons from established successes provides a blueprint.
Successful Brand Examples: Leveraging Nostalgia and Playfulness
Many brands large and small have successfully blended play with purpose. For instance, consider the hype around the Barbie movie in 2023, which sparked the 'Barbiecore' trend. Numerous fashion brands, from fast fashion to luxury, launched Barbie-inspired collections.
Barbiecore 2023: Embrace the Pink Barbie Fashion Trend | Image from Nolabels
This was pure nostalgia play, targeting those who grew up with Barbie. However, it really succeeded because it was done with a sense of celebration and empowerment, updating an old icon for a new era.
Another example is FENDI's collaboration with FRGMT and POKÉMON. Celebrating the Year of the Dragon, their playful collection reimagines FENDI's signature Peakaboo and Baguette bags with FF jacquard patterns reinterpreted by Hiroshi Fujiwara's FRGMT.
The addition of Pokémon characters Dratini, Dragonair, and Dragonite not only symbolizes the Year of the Dragon but also evokes powerful nostalgia for millennials who grew up collecting Pokémon cards and playing the games.
Plus, this strategic partnership is also a great demonstration of how brands can tap into childhood memories while maintaining their premium or high-level branding and aesthetic.
FENDI × FRGMT × POKÉMON limited edition collection (2024). The luxury collaboration combines FENDI's signature aesthetic with nostalgic Pokémon characters. Image from Koktail Magazine.
In essence, balancing play and purpose means you give your audience the emotional uplift of nostalgia and kid-like fun, while still delivering on the rational expectations they have (quality, ethics, authenticity).
This way, your brand remains trustworthy and substantive, even while cracking a childlike smile.
Designing with Emotion: Materials That Tap Into Memory
Our senses are powerful memory triggers, the touch of a fabric, a particular color, even a subtle scent can transport someone to a different time. Forward-thinking fashion brandsneed to know how to design **with these emotions in mind, choosing materials and elements that deliberately tap into memory and joy.
So what does that look like in practice? Here are a few creative approaches:
Playful Colorways
Color is one of the quickest triggers of nostalgia. A specific shade can evoke an era or a beloved childhood object.
Brands can experiment with color palettes drawn from nostalgic sources. For example, the neon primaries of 90s windbreakers, the soft pastels of a favorite cartoon character, or even the bold crayon-box tones that remind us of kindergarten art class. Such colors instantly spark recognition and warmth.
The idea is to use color not just aesthetically, but emotionally, to create an immediate mood of fun or comfort when someone sees the product.
Touch and Texture
The feel of a material can summon powerful memories. Think of a snuggly fleece that feels like a childhood blanket, or worn-in denim like your old favorite overalls.
Designers can leverage this by incorporating textures that invite touch and carry emotional weight. Soft, huggable textiles (plush faux fur, velvety finishes, sherpa linings) can subconsciously remind customers of stuffed toys or cozy winters from youth.
Even materials like translucent vinyl or jelly (used in accessories) can evoke the tactile thrill of childhood raincoats or jelly sandals. By choosing materials that feel nostalgic, brands design not just for the eyes, but for the heart, creating pieces that consumers instinctively want to hug or stroke because they feel safe and happy.
Multi-sensory Elements
Going beyond look and feel, some brands are experimenting with engaging other senses. For example, scent-infused fashion is emerging.
Scent is a direct line to the memory center of the brain. As research in sensory marketing shows, multi-sensory design can increase consumer engagement by appealing to nostalgia.
In a fashion context, that could mean anything from garments that change color in the sun (remember Hypercolor shirts?) to reversible sequins that people can swipe (popular in kids’ clothes, oddly satisfying for adults too).
Material Narratives
Designers can also source materials that carry a story connecting past and present. Upcycled vintage fabrics are a perfect example, repurposing actual textiles from past decades (old concert T-shirts, 80s bedsheet prints featuring cartoons, retro silk scarves) into new garments.
This not only gives a literal piece of nostalgia in each item, but also champions sustainability through reuse (which will give your brand another edge for integrating ethics into your production as well).
Even new sustainable materials can have a nostalgic twist: for instance, a fabric like the Navy Plaid Coating Fabric in World Collective could recreate the look and feel of a classic school uniform skirt, giving consumers that old-school vibe, but with eco-friendly credentials.
The result of this emotion-centric design approach? Products that resonate on a deeper level. When someone touches a garment and it instantly feels familiar, or when a color reminds them of happy times, that’s a powerful connection.
But another layer is definitely selecting materials thoughtfully to add quality to the idea you're trying to transmit, effectively combining two valuable elements. Keep reading to see how sourcing smartly can help you create an even more successful nostalgic collection.
Combine the Kidult/Nostalgia Trend with Traceable, Transparent Sourcing
One important aspect of modern branding that cannot be forgotten, even as we talk about nostalgia and play, is accountability.
Today’s consumers, especially Gen Z and younger Millennials, care deeply about how a product is made. Transparency, ethical sourcing, and sustainability are on their checklist.
In fact, WGSN’s 2024 future consumer research shows that roughly 60% of shoppers in the US, Europe, and China want more transparency about the production journey of their clothes so they can make ethical decisions.
That said, nostalgic branding and transparent sourcing can go hand-in-hand, and doing both can make your brand even more powerful.
So, how can fashion brands merge this demand for transparency with the fun, storybook branding we’ve discussed?
First, consider that being transparent and responsible doesn’t diminish the magic of nostalgia. If anything, it can enhance it by building trust. The product gives them emotional joy and aligns with their values. They’ll be happy to learn they don’t have to choose one or the other.
But how to practically combine them? Here are a few approaches:
Storytelling Transparency In a Fun Way
Use the same channels and creativity you’d use for nostalgic storytelling to also share the story of your supply chain.
For example, if you launch a retro-inspired sneaker, create an infographic in a playful comic style that shows the journey of that sneaker (from the rubber sourced to the factory, all the way to the consumer.)
This could be part of the packaging or a webpage QR code the customer can scan. By presenting sourcing info in a visually engaging, user-friendly way, you normalize transparency as part of the brand experience. It doesn’t have to be dry or corporate; it can be colorful, clear, and even fun.
Traceable Nostalgic Materials
If you’re incorporating nostalgia through materials (as discussed earlier), ensure those materials come from responsible sources and then tell that story.
Maybe you’re using deadstock vintage fabrics, great, talk about how repurposing these materials not only evokes the past but also avoids waste. Or if you developed a special fabric that feels like, say, a 80s tracksuit, but made from recycled plastic bottles, let consumers track that.
In fact, traceability information will soon be required by Digital Product Passports (DPPs), and you can embrace this requirement as an authentic approach to transparency.
To help you embed these details into your products, systems like World Collective (the platform behind this very blog) offers traceability solutions and a network of certified textile and other material suppliers to help brands create transparent, credible materials.
By using such an ecosystem, an emerging brand can source a funky nostalgic-print fabric that is also GOTS-certified organic, and proudly share both the fun design story and the sustainability story side by side.
In conclusion, the most forward-thinking fashion brands are those who can bring a smile to consumers’ faces and peace of mind to their consciences at the same time.
Nostalgia and kidult-centric design provide the smile, the emotional, human, joyful touch. Transparent and traceable sourcing provides the peace of mind, the reassurance that this joy isn’t at someone else’s expense or hiding ugly truths.
When combined, you get what every brand aspires to: products that people love and trust. In 2025 and beyond, that is the ultimate recipe for a lasting brand-community relationship.
Bringing Playful Purpose to Fashion's Future
People are yearning for connection: to their past, to happiness, and to brands that “get it.”
For fashion companies, embracing this doesn’t mean simply slapping old cartoons on T-shirts. It means designing intentionally for emotion, crafting narratives that resonate, and inviting customers to play again.
It also means doing so with integrity, infusing joy and ensuring responsibility, so that the emotional connections you build are built to last.
Whether it’s a color that sparks a memory or a marketing campaign that feels like a beloved throwback, these touches create an instant connection with your audience.
And when you support that connection with honest practices (transparent sourcing, ethical production, sincere storytelling) you turn a one-time novelty into a long-term relationship. Consumers will remember not just that your product was fun or cool, but that your brand made them feel good inside and out.
So, whether you’re an emerging designer sketching your next line, or a heritage brand looking to stay relevant, consider this dual approach: Bring back the magic of play, and back it up with purpose. In doing so, you just might create the kind of brand experience that people will cherish, both for the memories it evokes and the values it embodies.
