There are now clothes to match the music, and the tweens love it, Christine Sams writes.

Collette Dinnigan, Akira Isogawa, Peter Morrissey . . . and, er, Nikki Webster. OK, perhaps it’s a stretch to compare the Australian pop starlet with some of the nation’s esteemed designers, but 16-year-old Webster has entered the world of fashion with her own clothing range.

At Kmart stores across the country, tween girls are snapping up Nikki Webster jeans, skirts and dance wear. The official launch of the range has been timed to coincide with the release of Webster’s new single, a cover version of Dancing In The Street.

Most adult music fans will undoubtedly curl up in horror at the thought of Webster bleating out a light-hearted version of the classic song (and the accompanying video clip is only slightly preferable to Chinese water torture).

But the singer herself has created a strategic marketing campaign, based on selling music and fashion to her core audience: girls under 10. Not only is she going up against the richest teenage twins in the world, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Webster is hoping to reposition herself within the music industry.

Her new album, due out early next year and currently untitled, will boast a streamlined “dance” theme, directly designed to appeal to the young audiences listening to children’s groups including Hi-5.

To match the music, the Nikki Webster range of clothing in Kmart is also based on a central “dance” theme, with bright, comfortable outfits primarily made from stretch fabrics.

“The younger market is a great thing for me,” Webster said. “They relate to me, they look up to me as a mentor.

“And my fans can actually see me around the shops where they buy the clothes. I’m always walking around the shops, just as a normal person. So if they see me, and then they see my clothes, we have a closer relationship.”

Webster was approached by executives at Kmart earlier this year to create her own range of clothing – a move prompted by the arrival of the Mary-Kate and Ashley brand in Australia. (The twins’ clothing range is sold in Target stores nationally.)

Without making official announcements or starting a press campaign, Kmart introduced Nikki Webster signature items into stores in August. The first three sold out even before Webster officially launched her range last week.

The singer is happy to acknowledge she is now in direct competition with the mega-rich Olsen twins in the battle for the tween fashion market in Australia. “Yes I am [going up against them],’ she said with a giggle. “The Kmart people are just overwhelmed because our range is selling out. Their range is doing well, but mine sold out without any big advertisements or anything like that.

“My clothes are more about fun and they’re all bright colours. Theirs [the Olsen twins] is a bit more sophisticated. I want kids to have fun and be individuals in my clothes.”

So the all-Australian girl is ready to take up the fight, using her clothing range and CDs as key marketing weapons. And although she’s long been known as sweet, innocent Nikki Webster – the girl who flew through the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympics – there is an underlying toughness about the year 11 student.

Webster knows her street credibility is pretty much non-existent in an industry where critics make a sport of bagging her music (and yes, that includes me).

But she refuses to bow to criticism and said flak from critics doesn’t worry her.

“At least I’m getting mentioned, I suppose,” she said, laughing. “I try not to read it, but most of those people I’ve never met or spoken to, they just make their own judgements. I just take it in my stride. They’ll get over it and one day they’ll be bowing at my feet, I suppose.”

Those are the confident words of a performer who is determined to stick around in the pop charts.

Webster even revealed she was planning a change of image once she turns 18.

“In a few years down the track you never know what will happen.

“I might mature a bit in my face, it will be a big changing time for me.

“By the time I’m 18 I’ll definitely be changing my music style, as well as my appearance.”

But in the meantime, her focus is on providing easy-listening dance tracks for children and families.

Webster said her new album is not specifically aimed at children. But reading between the lines, the singer and her marketing team at BMG Music have obviously decided to create a theme album for young kids.

“The concept of the album is all about fun and dancing,” she said. “I wanted to do a number of cover songs so parents could get up and interact with their children. I wanted that kind of interaction between families.”

When asked whether she was competing against groups such as Hi-5, Webster said: “Yes, I suppose I am going up against them. But they’re very dominated by five-year-olds to eight-year-olds.

“Five-year-olds do like my music, but my audience is broader.” And just tall enough to reach the clothing racks in Kmart.

Source: The Sun-Herald