Boys wear pink, girls rock streetwear: the gender neutral clothes empowering kids

A Gold Coast woman has turned pandemic unemployment into a lucrative new business selling gender-neutral kids’ clothing.

When Renee Schmidt lost work as an events producer due to COVID-19, she instead found a successful new business venture selling gender-neutral kids’ clothing online.

The 37-year-old from the Gold Coast was selling belongings on Facebook Marketplace when she decided to enter the e-commerce world, which saw her take over kids’ clothing business Five&knux – a store that specialises in street/urban style clothing for children.

Renee Schmidt with her range of gender-neutral clothing modelled by (from left) Hugo, 5, Ada, 2, Winston, 4, and Marshall, 7. Picture: Annette Dew

“A lot of my friends have multiple kids and the quality of clothing is really good for hand-me-downs, and in terms of buying sustainable clothing for years to come it’s really important,” she said.

“You don’t always know if you’re having a boy or a girl, so this fashion is really cool because the clothes can be worn by the little brother or the big sister, they are quite universal.”

Five&knux clothing online

The clothing includes tees with writing including “you do you boo” and “weekend vibes”, “not your basic kid”, as well as hoodies, jeans and accessories.

Ms Schmidt said the clothes empowered children from a young age to be able to choose their own style and identity.

She said a lot of her customers said their kids have fun choosing the clothes they wanted to wear.

Five&knux clothing featured online

“We are raising strong and powerful women, and if they want to wear street clothes they should – or if a boy wants to wear pink it doesn’t mean they can’t,” she said.

“Teaching kids they can be individual and unique at a young age is important.

“As long as you’re happy that’s all that matters, and you can dress the way you want to dress.

“The reaction has been amazing, it’s nice to hear the kids are picking which clothes they like and having fun.”