Lessons on Gen Z & Gen Alpha from a $170 sweatshirt
If you are a parent today, you’ve probably had the same moment I did: standing there holding a sweatshirt wondering, “How on earth did this piece of fleece become so expensive?”
In our house, this ridiculously expensive sweatshirt trend is playing out in real time — just in two very different ways.
My daughter
For my daughter, it’s all about ALO & Parke.
Soft colors, clean fonts, comfy cuts — it’s the modern-day equivalent of the oversized university sweatshirt we grew up on.
To her, these pieces aren’t clothes; they’re identity. She knows every drop, every color that sold out, every TikTok trend tied to them.
She wears them everywhere — school, cheer class, errands, sleepovers — like it’s her personal uniform.
And every time she wears one, at least one girl says, “Where did you get that?”
My son
Then… there’s my son.
His sweatshirts of choice have been Supreme and Fear of God Essentials — the heavyweight players of modern streetwear.
For him, the sweatshirt isn’t just comfort. It’s culture.
It’s the hip-hop influence, the “if you know, you know” vibe.
He’ll spend 20 minutes explaining drop culture, restocks, bots, and resale prices. A whole new universe of fashion economics.
Two kids. Two aesthetics. One big cultural shift.
Watching both of them, I’ve realized something important:
Sweatshirts today aren’t about fashion. They are social currency.
For Gen Z and Gen Alpha, a sweatshirt is instant belonging. If someone else in the hallway has on the same brand, it’s an immediate connection: “You got the drop? Okay, you’re cool.”
Comfort + Identity = the new luxury.
Girls love the soft, clean, coordinated look — the “put together without trying” vibe.
Boys gravitate toward the streetwear lineage — boldness wrapped in minimalism, but with a knowing wink.
Both are participating in trends that feel bigger than them. I
It’s the TikTok influenced brand discovery.
These micro-brands blow up not because they’re big in stores, but because one creator makes a “day in my life” video wearing one. And like magic…..there it goes into the cart.
The marketing takeaway?
Kids today aren’t buying logos — they’re buying a tribe.
They discover, adopt, and spread trends faster than adults ever did. They are mini-brand evangelists without even meaning to be.
Brands that win the next generation’s attention aren’t the loudest — they’re the ones who make people feel like they belong to something meaningful, even if it’s just a sweatshirt.
And as a marketer, watching my own kids, I’m reminded every day:
The most powerful brand isn’t the product.
It’s the feeling someone gets when they put it on.
And the brands that win the younger generations are the ones that create
A recognizable aesthetic
A community feel
A product that feels like their thing
Turns out, all brands can learn a little something from a sweatshirt. Brand identity, connection with your customer, and building community is even more important today than ever before.
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