Claires is betting Gen Alpha wants creators, not celebrities

For millennials, a trip to Claire's was practically a rite of passage.

It was where ears were pierced, friendship necklaces were split in half, and every trip to the mall somehow ended with an armful of glittery accessories you probably didn't need but absolutely had to have. Long before "girlhood" became an internet buzzword, Claire's had already built an empire around it.

But nostalgia alone isn't enough to sustain a retailer in 2026.

After years of financial struggles, shifting shopping habits, and the slow decline of the American mall, Claire's has spent the past several years redefining itself for a generation that's more likely to hang out with friends on Roblox than at the mall. Its newest customer isn't a millennial looking for a nostalgia fix — she's Gen Alpha, discovering the brand through YouTube, social media, and online gaming platforms.

That strategy was on full display at this year's VidCon, where Claire's unveiled its latest collaboration with Roblox YouTuber Lana's Life, which just hit stores nationwide. The collection, inspired by the wildly popular game Dress To Impress, is more than another creator merchandise drop. It's part of a broader effort to position Claire's as what Chief Brand Officer Michelle Goad calls "an inspiring playground for modern girlhood."

"Girls feel very rushed to grow up," Goad told Mashable at the convention. "Because they have access to everything on social. They're seeing grown women in their algorithm, and they feel this urgency to grow up faster. We took a counterculture position and said, 'We're actually going to take a beat and cherish girlhood.'"

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For Claire's, that starts with understanding how Gen Alpha differs from the generation before it. While Gen Z embraced louder colors, edgier aesthetics, and more maximalism, Goad says today's tween shoppers are gravitating toward something noticeably softer.

"They're really feminine," she said. "They like a very pastel aesthetic."

She believes part of that shift comes from growing up with millennial parents. "If mom is in her beige era," she joked, "your daughter is probably into something really girly."

That insight has shaped everything from Claire's merchandising to the creators it partners with.

Rather than signing a traditional celebrity ambassador, the company looked to Lana's Life, whose 9.5 million subscribers know her through Roblox roleplay videos, beauty content, and Dress To Impress. Claire's had already seen strong demand for Dress To Impress-inspired products in stores. Lana, Goad said, was the obvious person to help bring that audience into the physical world.

The decision reflects a broader shift in how brands think about influence. "This consumer demands a two-way conversation and a true relationship with their community," Goad said. "You're going to want to engage and be a fan of someone who's actually there, showing up in the comments and doing the work."

For Gen Alpha, creators often feel more accessible than celebrities. They're present in comment sections, livestreams, and community posts in ways movie stars and musicians rarely are. And that trust and connection hold more weight than a traditional celebrity endorsement. With millions of followers, Lana offers both the scale of a celebrity and the intimacy of a creator, which is exactly the combination Claire's is betting on.

The collaboration itself was designed to blur the line between digital and physical play. Fans visiting Claire's booth at VidCon could test products before they reached stores, meet Lana in person, and purchase items that unlocked digital rewards inside Roblox.

That feedback loop is central to how Claire's says it now operates. Instead of relying solely on trend forecasting months in advance, Goad says the company watches what young girls are actually talking about online and moves quickly. Internally, she describes the strategy as being "on trend, on time."

Whether it's the rise of squishies, Dress To Impress, hackey sacks making a comeback for a new generation, or another internet obsession waiting around the corner, Claire's increasingly treats Gen Alpha communities as its research department.

"I think our job is to listen," Goad said. "What are they saying in the comments? What are they asking for? What are they excited about?"

It's a notable evolution for a retailer once synonymous with mall culture. Instead of asking young shoppers to fit into Claire's vision, the company says it's rebuilding the brand around theirs.

For a generation growing up almost entirely online, Goad hopes Claire's can still offer something increasingly rare: a place — whether that's inside a Roblox game, on social media, or in one of its stores — where girlhood isn't something to rush through, but something worth celebrating.