117) Youth Trend

Last week, I had my good friend Jesse over for dinner and catch up. I was explaining what I'd learned in the coolhunting class I took in Barcelona - the whole connecting what we see on the street with larger macrotrends, explaining the why, etc. Jesse, being Jesse, threw Silly Bandz at me (verbally) and asked me to explain the meaning behind the self-described silly trend. I'd like to say that I whipped out some genius answer, or informed him that like any good analyst I required more research. In reality, I stammered.

A week and some Internet sleuthing later, and it's time to discuss. For those unfamiliar, Silly Bandz are brightly colored rubber band bracelets that take the shape of various objects at rest. When worn and stretched, they resemble a squiggly line, but will always snap back to their original shape once removed. They've existed in the US since 2008, inspired by animal bands seen at a Japanese trade show, and have exploded in popularity among kids this past year. According to USA Today, the company now sells 1 million packs of Silly Bandz per week.

Silly Bandz come in the shapes of animals, seasonal items, Marvel super heroes, to name a few. The array of shapes and colors makes them perfect for the social trading rituals of kids (see also: baseball cards, Pogs, stickers). It also plays nicely into kids' just-emerging need to express individuality, while still remaining part of the group (a driver that will bloom exponentially in their teenage years).

This is all pretty straight forward so far. Now throw in full grown celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker, Mary-Kate Olsen, Paramore's Hayley Williams and Rebecca Romijn, who have all been spotted sporting Silly Bandz.




Sarah Jessica Parker and Rebecca Romijn are both mothers, which gives us one possible explanation. But how about childless Mary-Kate Olsen and Hayley Williams? It's harder to explain their mixing of a youth trend with their designer arm wear. Furthermore, none of these womens' audiences are the age group that is fiending Silly Bandz, so it can't be said that they are trying to appeal to kids. Typically, it is the celebrities that model and disseminate trends to the youth. This time, we see the opposite - celebrities picking up trends from the youth. But why?

Needs more time to marinate.