When Sylvana Durrett and Luisana Mendoza Roccia co-founded children’s shopping site Maisonette in 2017, they aimed to fill what they saw as a major gap in the market: an online destination to shop for high-quality, unique children’s clothing. Or as they called it, a Net-a-Porter equivalent for kids.
Almost a decade into founding Maisonette, Durrett is now a mother to tweens. (Mendoza Roccia is no longer involved with the business.) Here, Durrett and Maisonette president AJ Nicholas encountered a new, not dissimilar problem: no destination catered to the ‘in-between’ phase when tweens and teens are too old for kids’ clothing but too young for adult pieces. Today, Maisonette is debuting its solution: Neon Rebels, a marketplace for children ages seven to 14.
This age range is often overlooked because it falls between traditional children’s and adult retail, the Maisonette team says. They believe this makes it the biggest opportunity in kidswear. “Most retailers force families to make an awkward choice between products that feel either too young or too grown up, which creates constant friction between parents and kids,” Nicholas says. “That’s the exact pain point we’re solving.”
For Durrett, watching her own children grow — alongside her customers’ kids — made this launch a natural next step. “Over the past decade, we’ve built this deep trust with millennial parents who first came to Maisonette when their kids were babies. But as those children grew up, we started seeing an organic surge in demand for tween products on our platform,” Durrett says. “Neon Rebels is our response to that transition; a dedicated space that gives tweens room to discover who they are, while giving parents full confidence in what they’re discovering.”
Maisonette and Neon Rebels founder Sylvana Durrett and president AJ Nicholas with their tween children.
Photo: Neon Rebels
Maisonette has seen the demand firsthand in its children’s business. The marketplace has grown its tween and teen brands by 30% over the last three years, Nicholas says, and now includes brands such as New York-based denim brand DL1961 (which has a robust kids’ offering) and tween-focused brand Summer Loving. As the offering grew, the team felt this category needed its own dedicated space. “What’s been missing in this market is a trusted, curated lifestyle destination built specifically around this unique stage of life,” Nicholas says.
Neon Rebels is launching today with over 100 brands across apparel, shoes and accessories, home and electronics, and beauty and wellness, with plans to grow. Brands on board include LoveShackFancy, DL1961 and Pleat, and Montana Maple, the new tween extension from kidswear brand Marlo, will debut exclusively on Neon Rebels. Maisonette’s existing infrastructure will underpin the Neon Rebels platform, including its marketplace technology, fulfillment channels, vendor relationships, and established customer base.
