Trendy Tot

5-year-old wunderkind designer who mimics Taylor Swift and other stars creates J. Crew collection

Five-year-old phenom Sydney Keiser, better known by her nickname "Mayhem" (a nod to her free-spirited attitude), has landed a gig with J. Crew.

The youngest designer to ever grace the payroll of the American clothing brand, the imaginative wunderkind is taking the fashion world by storm with her online-only mini-collection of kids’ apparel, priced at $50 to $80, including dresses, tops and Mayhem's favorite piece, a dark cranberry romper in a leaf print.

People have gone crazy over images of the tyke dressed in her red-carpet gown replicas, made with little more than colored paper, tape and glue, and posted regularly on Instagram.

"I like the design (of the romper) best,” she said in a statement. The J. Crew web site also notes she wanted her dress to have shorts so it wouldn't ride up when she went down the slide. Of course.

The pint-sized prodigy first gained recognition on the Internet. People have gone crazy over images of the tyke dressed in her red-carpet gown replicas, made with little more than colored paper, tape and glue, and posted regularly on Instagram. The social media account (maintained with the help of her mom, Angie Keiser) has gained such a large audience, with a current count of more than 491,000 followers, that even a Kardashian would take notice. Or a major retailer.

Angie Keiser blogged about the initial contact from J. Crew saying, “I remember reading the email and being certain it was a set up. As in, it’s probably some kind of wicked virus that if I reply to it, my laptop will explode or at the very least melt before my eyes. So I read it a few more times to myself. And then I read it out loud to (my husband) Keith. His reply was simple: You should probably reply to that one.”

Mayhem and her mother headed from their Cincinnati home to J. Crew headquarters in New York last year to begin work on the Little Mayhem Collection, using the 5-year-old's arts-and-crafts know-how as a guide. Adult designers then turned her paper creations into the real thing.

"When we met with Mayhem for the first time we were really curious to see how she would work and were amazed to watch this barely 4-year-old girl start meticulously folding the pleats on a skirt and placing stones very specifically and carefully on a top she had just fashioned around herself.

"She has such an inventive and creative personality that really resonated with us. It was great to have a truly creative child be at the heart of the design process," said Jenny Cooper, head of Crewcuts Design for J. Crew.

We can't wait to see what's next for the trendy tot. Paris Fashion Week, perhaps?

The tony tot first gained recognition on the Internet for her red-carpet gown replicas, made with little more than colored paper, tape and glue.

Houston, Crewcut Collection at J Crew, Little Mayhem and Anne Hathaway

Photo by 2sisters_angie

The tony tot first gained recognition on the Internet for her red-carpet gown replicas, made with little more than colored paper, tape and glue.

unspecified

Hail yeah

Amazon’s Zoox robotaxi service gears up to hit Houston roads

Photo courtesy of Zoox

undefined

Amazon-owned robotaxi ride-hailing service Zoox is zooming into Houston later this month, becoming the latest robotaxi operator jockeying for local riders.

Initially, self-driving retrofitted SUVs with safety drivers on board will serve downtown Houston, centrally located tourist hotspots, and certain residential neighborhoods. The SUVs will test Houston roads before Zoox rolls out autonomous robotaxis here, the company says.

Zoox takes Houston for a test drive

At the outset, Zoox says, a limited number of vehicles will be driven by people to gather data about Houston roads.

“This helps create a detailed picture of each street, from road geometry to traffic lights,” the company says. “Once we have mapped out an area, we will test autonomous driving capabilities. Safety and operational readiness govern the pace of our rollout.”

Zoox says its robotaxi differs from vehicles operated by other ride-hailing services.

The robotaxi “is purpose-built for autonomous ride-hailing and designed for riders from day one,” the company says. “It has no traditional driving controls and instead has carriage-style seating, sliding glass doors, and features that let the rider personalize their journey.”

Along with Houston, Zoox is launching this month in San Diego. The ride-hailing service already operates in Austin, Dallas, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.

Zoox breaks into “sprawling” Houston market

Zoox describes Houston as its “most sprawling market to date.”

“Driving here means navigating complex service-road networks, unique merging scenarios, and challenging environmental conditions, including severe heat, heavy rain, and urban flooding,” the company says. “It’s a rigorous test of our technology across geography and terrain.”

Zoox will join two other autonomous ride-hailing services in Houston:

Waymo began rolling in Houston in February. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, owns Waymo.
Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla began offering robotaxi services earlier this year.

A third Zoox competitor is arriving within the next year. A partnership comprising rideshare provider Uber, EV manufacturer Lucid, and autonomous technology company Nuro plans to launch a robotaxi service in Houston by mid-2027.