Some of Gen Z's biggest fashion entrepreneurs have worked with stars like Kylie Jenner and Lorde - and they're all under 22

Slashed by Tia

20-year-old Teni Adeola owns the brand Slashed by Tia, which has been worn by people like Lorde and SZA.

• Generation Z is defined by the Center for Generational Kinetics as the group of people born after 1996.
• Traditional retailers are still learning exactly how to target younger shoppers whose interests differ from millennials. Most teens look to peers rather than advertisers for influence. 
• Social media and the rise of influencers have allowed teens to create and popularize their own brands rather than buy into trends.
• Some of these young designers have had their brands repped by famous musicians and influencers like Lorde and Kylie Jenner.

Generation Z, defined by the Center for Generational Kinetics as those born after 1996, is puzzling retailers.

Though most traditional retailers aren't certain about Gen Z yet, what they do know is that younger shoppers lack brand loyalty and spend more money on food than on clothing. Today's teens "gravitate toward brands that promote a diverse, gender-neutral, edgy, and above all, authentic, vision. The old rules that the fashion industry has lived and died by (like status symbols and mass trends) ring hollow to them," Refinery29 reported. 

Gen Z also spends a lot of time on social media. 92% of US teens go online daily, and 24% are online almost constantly, according to a 2015 report by the Pew Research Center. And their social-media leveraging power has been an asset in helping teens build their own clothing brands and launch businesses that represent what they stand for and, ultimately, make them money. 

Teni Adeola, fashion designer and founder of the clothing brand Slashed by Tia, is just one example of an entrepreneur using social media to build an internationally known brand. In addition to being a student at the New School, Adeola manages a showroom, runs an e-commerce brand, and has had a fashion show in Paris. Her designs have been worn by stars like Lorde, SZA, and Kali Uchis, and it all started with social media.

"I met some models who had a huge following. They were like, 'I like [your clothes], I'll model it, and post it on Instagram,'" Adeola told CNBC.

She's not the only one who has found success this way. Many other young designers have recently found commercial success, having their work worn by celebrities or being shouted out in major publications. Keep scrolling to learn more about them: