Digitopia is entering the retail world with a mix of futuristic designs and fresh ideas inspired by advances in AI and virtual reality. Tools like DALL.E and Midjourney have helped shape this style, creating surreal, almost dreamlike visuals.
By 2025, real and digital products will blur the line between what’s real and what feels like a fantasy. For spring/summer 2025, retailers can expect soft colors, flowing designs, interesting textures, and playful details to take over the kids, babies, and teens market.
But there’s more to it than that. Keep reading to discover five exciting trends for kids, babies, and teens in S/S 2025, all inspired by Digitopia.
Table of Contents
Kids, babies, & teens: 5 trends to watch in S/S 25
1. Intricate linework
2. Hyper-haptic
3. Color shifts
4. Playful cartoonification
5. Barely there
Wrapping up
Kids, babies, & teens: 5 trends to watch in S/S 25
1. Intricate linework
Can kid’s products have intricate work? Yes! People would be surprised at how much kids pay attention to details. So, this trend taps into that world by offering digital-inspired designs incorporating intricate linework, unique forms, and textures that resemble laser-cut or 3D-printed styles for kids’ products.
How retailers can apply it
Consider experimenting with cutout designs to create surprising patterns that interact beautifully with light and shadow. The best part? They’re perfect for furniture. Additionally, ribbed details can easily transform everyday items into sculpted works kids will love. Core furniture pieces can also have tubular or geometric accents.
Key ideas to focus on
Think big! With their natural slats and panels, cribs and changing tables can double as striking statement pieces with intricate linework. Additionally, geometric storage solutions, like bookshelves, are another fantastic way to bring this style into functional everyday items.
2. Hyper-haptic
If there’s one thing babies, kids, and teens love to do, it’s touch—so why not explore that opportunity? Hyper-haptic does exactly that by introducing tactile designs to products for this demographic. For this reason, businesses can choose from various textures–ribbed to rippled and tufted—to engage the senses and spark curiosity.
Color, materials, and finishes
This trend aims to ensure this audience can engage their senses with different products. For this reason, businesses can add soft, fuzzy poufs and floor cushions to their children’s section and stock ribbed silicone sensory toys targeted at babies.
But that’s not all. Colors are equally important here. So, retailers must choose the right hues to improve sensory experiences. For instance, they can use bright, energetic colors to grab kids’ attention, while calming neutrals can help create soothing spaces.
Key items to watch
Fuzzy items (such as floor mats, baby seats, and chairs) are the products to focus on here. In addition to feeling great, these items fit perfectly with the growing trend of visual comfort. Tweens and teens, however, need a different approach. Hence, businesses can stock bedding with tactile textures (like puffed, ruched, or quilted)–it’s very satisfying.
3. Color shifts
Who doesn’t love colors? It’s one of the many elements that excite kids, and this trend gives them eye-catching hues in the popular ombre effect. It’s bringing color gradients and rainbow tones to kids’ spaces, giving parents an amazing way to refresh classic designs while adding the texture and color kids love.
Colors
Parents would love soft pastel colors for their nurseries. They make any room feel calm and dreamy—a vibe that feels right for babies. But what about older boys and girls? They will love brighter, punchier tones and cool, modern hues. It’s the perfect way to bring energy and personality to their spaces.
How to leverage it
Ombré is so versatile! Retailers can offer the effect on curtains, bedding, or rugs to create a cozy and magical space. They can also consider sprayed or airbrushed finishes for walls and furniture so consumers can make a softer, more whimsical feel that kids will love.
Key pieces to stock
Consider adding ombré bedding, cushions, or curtains to home collections. They are great for softening a room while keeping it stylish. Ombré mood lighting is a better way to attract teens, as it’s perfect for creating an uplifting, fun atmosphere that feels unique to them.
4. Playful cartoonification
One trend that’s catching on for kids, babies, and teens is playful cartoonification. After all, this demographic loves having fun, so offering them features like thick outlines, eye-catching patterns, chunky shapes, and bright, playful colors is an easy way to win their hearts (and wallets). The cherry on top? Digitopia’s vibrant colors make these elements look even better.
Where this trend shines
There’s nothing a kid loves more than cartoonish objects. That’s why rounded, balloon-like shapes are exploding in the kids’ dining accessories and furniture market. Another great example is padded designs that make poufs and storage ottomans feel more playful than serious.
Key items to watch
Trompe-l’oeil (optical illusion) decor is a must-have for this trend. Think of rugs, cushions, and lights in the shapes of iconic foods or flowers—perfect for older kids and tweens. And don’t forget about opportunities for collaborations! Partnering with beloved cartoons could bring toddler-friendly tableware and bedding featuring their favorite characters to life.
5. Barely there
Minimalism works everywhere, including in the kids’, babies’, and teens’ markets. The Barely There trend introduces creative ways to add transparency to designs targeted at this young audience. Spring/summer 2025 has created the perfect environment for metallic accents, tinted transparent materials, and sculptural details to shine (literally) as they play with light and create dynamic effects perfect for kids’ spaces.
Colors, materials, and finishes (CMF)
This trend has its key colors that retailers should consider. For starters, cool pastel tones add a perfect modern, digital feel. However, pale shades also work here, creating a soft, calming glow. Beyond color, soft items like sheer curtains are another way to leverage this trend. They are perfect for filling rooms with soft colors when users light them from behind.
Key items to focus on
Think about stocking transparent furniture and lighting in teen spaces—it’s a great way to keep things modern and fresh. Consider investing in acrylic cribs and playpens with playful cutouts for younger kids to add some interesting texture.
Back in teen rooms, parents may look for mirrors and reflective lighting to create a fun, slightly mysterious vibe. And don’t forget snack and drink accessories for kids—focus on colorful, textured materials like ribbing to offer something practical and exciting.
Wrapping up
How manufacturers design products for babies, kids, and teens is changing in exciting ways. Families are paying more attention to how things feel, experimenting with light and color, and moving toward fun, cartoon-inspired designs.
Digitopia is already blending reality with imagination for the younger crowd. These trends are set to be the favorites for spring/summer 2025, bringing fresh, playful, and inspiring ideas to kids of all ages.
