Youth Tribes and Fashion (case studies in Singapore)
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This document discusses various contemporary subcultures and issues surrounding their appropriation and commodification. It begins by examining theories of subcultural style and identity formation from sources like Dick Hebdige. Case studies of postwar Japanese subcultures like the Futen-zoku and Bōsōzoku are presented. The document then discusses the rise of DIY design in Singapore and a case study of the Mash-Up fashion label. Issues of subcultural trends moving from street to runway and back again, as well as their marketing and commodification are explored through sources like Yuniya Kawamura's Fashion-ology. The blurring lines between production and consumption of subcultural styles is discussed.
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Youth Tribes and Fashion (case studies in Singapore)
- 2. • Sub-cultural Style • Appropriated Sub-Cultures • From Other to Another • Personal Study: Singapore • Case-study: Mash-Up • Marketing and Commodification
- 4. Ted Polhemus “Style isn’t just a superficial phenomenon but a visible tip of something much greater.”
- 5. “The tribal imperative is and always will be a fundamental part of human nature.” -Ted Polhemus, Street Style
- 7. –Dick Hebdige, Subcultures and the meaning of style, page 23 “Subculture provides a way of handling the experience of ambiguity and contradictions, the painful questions of identity. Each subculture provides its members with style, an imaginary coherence, a clear-cut ready-made identity which coalesces around certain chosen objects (a safety pin, a pair of winkle-pickers, a two-tone mohair suit). Together, these chosen objects form a whole; a recognisable aesthetic which in turn stands for a whole set of values and attitudes.”
- 9. Appropriated Sub-cultures Case-Study: Postwar Japanese Sub-cultures
- 10. “It's not about the clothes....”
- 11. “It's not about the clothes....”
- 12. Hiroshi Narumi, Street Style and its meaning in Post-war Japan, page 423 In terms of social behavior the futen-zoku was not an active tribe. They did little beyond making appearances in their chosen locations. Looking vaguely at passers-by, members of the futen-zoku simply sat in public squares, parks, and in the underground passages of Shinjuku train station (Mabuchi 1989: 167). The Futen-zoku danced in clubs and listened to Jazz at night and participated very little in politics, art, shopping, or country life. In spite of the influence of the American Hippies, the futen- zoku was an urban tribe, that had merely appropriated the Hippie style.
- 14. “It's not about the clothes....”
- 15. Though similar to British Rockers and American Hell’s Angels with regard to motorbike riding, the bôsô-zoku were considerably younger than their European and American counterparts. The bôsô- zoku subculture also developed an original style of dress that was quite different from other biker looks. Though their appearances are quite diverse, behavioral similarities exist between the bôsô- zoku and the Punk subculture. Both were antagonistic towards the dull, middle- class character of society in the 1970s. Hiroshi Narumi, Street Style and its meaning in Post-war Japan, page 425
- 18. FROM OTHER TO ANOTHER
- 19. DOCUMENTING AN ERA: iD
- 25. Sep LOSING OTHERNESS & MEANING September 2013
- 26. Marie Claire Blog, 15th October 2014
- 28. SIDEWALK TO CATWALK TO SIDE WALK IS NOT
- 29. GHETTO GOTHIC
- 32. Vogue Italia’s “Haute Mess” Cholas
- 33. Zoo“YOU DON'T OWN THAT LOOK..” Zoot riots in1943
- 34. PERSONAL STUDY
- 36. CLIMATE FOR SUB-CULTURE 2006-2008 ● RISE OF ELECTRO MUSIC ● INDIE MUSIC MASH-UPS ● NEW RAVE ● RISE OF SOCIAL MEDIA: BLOGGERS, FACEHUNTER, MYSPACE ● SCENESTERS, THE HORRORS, INDIE ROCK ● HEDI SLIMANE ● ANDROGYNY
- 38. .
- 39. PERSONAL STUDY: SUB-CULTURES IN SINGAPORE 2006-2010 ● INFLUENCE OF BRITISH ROCK ● NU RAVE ● ELECTRO MUSIC ● LEGAL DRINKING AGE ● ART SCHOOL BACKGROUND ● GROWING ARTS SCENE: JUICE, CATALOG ● ART SCHOOL BUDGETS ● RISE OF MYSPACE, BLOGS
- 41. JUICE, May 2007
- 42. JUICE, June 2008
- 45. M.I.A. 2007-2009
- 47. - Yuniya Kawamura, Fashion-ology, page 100 “…sometimes youth cultures create their own styles with their own definitions of fashions. I would call this another type of fashion system. The sources of fashion are becoming diverse, and a growing number of younger designers worldwide are emerging out of street culture and designing distinct street fashion.” ”
- 48. RISE OF SINGAPORE DIY DESIGNERS
- 50. MASH-UP SS 12 TOTEMANIA
- 51. SS 12 TOTEMANIA
- 52. SS 12 TOTEMANIA
- 53. DIPLO & MALUCA MALA 2011/2012
- 54. MALUCA MALA
- 56. #SEAPUNK
- 58. ATLANTA GOES TO ATLANTIS
- 59. AW 12 ATLANTA GOES TO ATLANTIS
- 61. HACKERS AND CYBER CULTURE 1990s
- 62. NDEBELE TRIBE
- 65. ADOPTING SUB-CULTURES ● Chicano/lowrider culture in Japan
- 66. AW13 LOCOS IN TOKYO
- 72. –vogue.co.uk “"There's an exhaustion with trying to seem different. People are genuinely tired by the fact that to achieve status you need to be different from everyone else around you." You can see her point. Fast fashion and the retailer's ever- growing ability to track trends from street to runway and back again means subcultures can barely exist beyond the brands. Punk, indie, hipster - are all sold off-the-peg from Primark to Saint Laurent. Not only is youth culture big business (LVMH profits are on a par with Google), it's everywhere.”
- 74. @SIBELONDEK “To most, it would be generalised as what seems to be “vapour wave” or early 2000s, for me I’m just inspired by the youthfulness, being surrounded by post-modern art, boredom of trends taking over the art of a culture so moving on to the next crazy thing that hasn’t been done- maybe it’s being in NYC where being an individual is cool and finding “cool” in yourself. We are almost performing an art piece of growing tired of what’s “new”, what’s “next” and going back to the 2000s where there was a nice balance of technology and freedom.”
- 76. @SIBELONDEK “I mean a lot of magazines has covered it or made some sort of “joke” about it. So probably it’s going to move on to the next thing soon when it gets overdone and when F21 starts displaying it.”
- 78. Fashion-ology, page 77 “There is a view that the centralized fashion system has been replaced by another system, and according to Crane (1999) fashion designers in several countries create designs for small publics in global markets. Trends are now set by fashion forecasters, fashion editors, and department store buyers. Industrial manufacturers are consumer driven, and market trends originate in many types of social groups, including adolescent urban subcultures, and consequently, fashion emanates from many sources and diffuses in various ways to different publics (Crane 1999: 13). At the same time, the distinction between production and consumption is becoming increasingly hazy and blurry.”
- 79. –Fashionology, page 78 “In the second model, the innovators generally emerge from communities in urban areas that are seedbeds for other types of innovation, such as popular music and the arts. To be disseminated to a larger audience, innovations have to be discovered and promoted. According to Crane (1999: 16), innovators tend to be small firms that are created by individuals who belong to the communities in which the innovations originate. If the style or fad shows signs of becoming popular, large firms begin to produce their versions of it and to market it aggressively. ” Bottom-up Dissemination of Fashion
- 81. NEW LANDSCAPES
- 83. TARGETING YOUR AUDIENCE Estate of Mind, 2012-2013
- 84. THE K POP PHENOMENON
- 86. BUTCHERING OF MEANING?... ● Business of Fashion, 6th September 2013
- 87. OR SUPERMARKET OF STYLE? “This is not, however, a world devoid of meaning. Indeed, precisely the opposite. Those who shop at the Supermarket of Style know full well that every garment (a 'target' T-shirt or one with Queen Elizabeth II sporting a safety pin through her nose) and every accessory on offer (Hippy beads, Psychedelic plastic rings) comes as part of a complete semiological package deal. “ - Ted Polhemus
- 88. References Hebdige, Dick. 1979. Subcultures and the Meaning of Style. London: Methuen. Narumi, Hiroshi. 2010. Street Style and Its Meaning in Postwar Japan, Fashion Theory, Volume 14, Issue 4, pp. 415-438. Berg. Kawamura, Y 2005, Fashion-ology: an introduction to fashion studies, Berg, Oxford; New York. Polhemus, Ted (1994), Street Style, London: Thames and Hudson. Websites: The Business Of Fashion DazedDigital Health Goth: http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/blogs/547561/health-goth-the-latest-trend-you-ve-never-heard-of.html Normcore Fashion: http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2014/03/21/normcore-fashion-vogue---definition
Editor's Notes
- Youth tribes can tell you a lot about the energy and social issues happening around them. Their concerns, their beliefs, etc.
- Youth tribes can tell you a lot about the energy and social issues happening around them. Their concerns, their beliefs, etc.
- Youth Tribes have intristic symbols within their groups and are usually volative, keep changing.
- Creepers were perfect for walking in snow, used during the war. Then adopted by Teddy Boys, then punks. Now they have come back into popularity and some people consider them ugly which could increase their appeal.
- What attitudes and adjectives would you associate with this shoe? What would your doctor say about it? What would your little sibling say about it?
- What attitudes and adjectives would you associate with this shoe? What would your doctor say about it? What would your little sibling say about it?
- Perfecto leather jacket- has to look a certain way, has come to symbolize rebellion through years of perpetuating this attittudes. (Marlon Brando's The Wild One 1940s, Punks 1960s, Now??)
- Body movements:Cycling, not showering, vintage cameras, drink designer coffee, say words like “that's so mainstream” “that's so vintage” Emotions/Attitudes they show: Nostalgia to the past, want to be 'eco' friendly, alternative lifestyles Clothes they wear: vintage, certain type of brands
- All of us must agree on the symbols or else the meanings are lost RUN DMC: cool? Fresh? Hope for inner city minorities to 'make it' RAMONES: Punk, don't care, nihilistic MARLON BRANDO: 1940s, rebellion
- What makes tribes, tribes? Ethnic and sub-cultural
- Psychological thought that this is the hierachy of needs and in our societies where the bases are taken care of, youths especially, look into tribes and sub-cultures to fulfill the top parts of the triangle.
- Films like clueless show the cliched cliques/tribes
- Begin out of a marginalized group
- Based on shared music Emo: emo music, there wwere emo-core, emo-screamo, emo-punk-rock They wear band-tees, hairstyle, skinny jeans, macbeth shoes Raggamuffins: listen to reggae, jamaican music, dancehall fashion
- Based on activities, addictions...etc B-boys: Breakdancing, hip hop and funk music Ravers: raves, drugs, techno music Skaters: Skate, skateboards, skate shoes
- Based on beliefs and ideals Hippy: peace, love, live and let live Beatniks: existentialism, beat generation- jack kerouac
- Based on race or immigrant diasporas Bhangramuffin-Indian or Pakistani descent in Britain, listen to Raggamuffin music, Not just any indian/pakistani, must live in Britain Zooties- Immigrants from Latin America, African Americans or Italian Americans wearing over-sized 'zoot' suits which were seen as un-American/unpatriotic, were worn to assert their masculinity. Fabric rationing meant that this suits were 'illegal', increasing their appeal. Most zooties were immigrants. Jazz musicians, even Malcolm X wore them.
- Based on sartorial differences Not just 'any' jeans, or a 'beard'. It has to be 'ironic' or a certain brand etc. This fine differences make the sub-culture unique. System of codes.
- The codes/symbols have to be assembled a certain way, if not, you're an outsider, a 'poser' or as this meme says, a 'poser douche'.
- Versace: punk Marc Jacobs: grunge
- Kanye West (rapper) collaborates with APC (french cult brand, to create a 'hip hop' oversized t-shirt. From streets (hip hop), to catwalk (APC) back to the street (hip hop heads love luxury labels like APC)but at a higher price tag. People were outraged and said it was a rip-off, commercialization of sub-cultures.
- BOF article about how Goth is being 'mined' It speaks in a negative light Is it really?
- 'Real Goths' Rick Owens, 'Goth Ninja' worn by Kate Moss, catapulted him to fame for his raw and 'grunge/goth' look. Rick Owens himself has a goth aesthetic. NOW: cult brands like Hood By Air use the 'goth' aesthetic, big brands take the 'essence' of goth styling and make it 'pretty'. Missing the point completely
- 2006 Susie Bubble speaks about Grunge styling and how it completely missed the mark, grunge was 'anti-fashion' and not just about the aesthetic look.
- Sex Pistols 'God Save the Queen'
- The Economist: Called the Met Ball an 'embarrassment' Fashion misses the point again Is punk dead
- Why do some people feel like it 'belongs' to them? Big commitment to some sub-cultures IE Wearing a zoot suit could cost you; marines/ white americans would beat up Zooties as wearing a Zoot suits was un-patriotic and agains the fabric rationing of war time.
- Parody? Vogue Italia showing 'chola' style
- 1980s iD used to document the street sub-cultures, one of the first records of stree styles and tribes in London Real deal?
- Art school budget: drink outside clubs, take the bus home, diy clothes, buy vintage 2 nd hand, go to clubs like butter factory, follow other international sub-cultures like neu-rave
- Mash-Up designers, we met while partying/studying in Lasalle, referenced different eras and aesthetics
- Henry Holland: references 1980s Katherinne Hamnet, who did political slogan t-shirts Cassette Playa: 80s silhoettes, neu-rave Androgyny: Agynnes Deyn
- Completely opposite, dark, androgynous, British rock couples like Kate Moss and Pete Doherty condoning the rock-star lifestyle
- Personal work in Lasalle
- Inspired by Native Americans, 1980s NY downtown art scene
- Looks back to 1980s, the hustle, urban, hip hop, sri lankan/ethnic roots, electro
- Downtown NY 1980s
- Clear show of the 1980s sub-cultures in NY – New Romantics
- Tranlating the energy into fabric; bleaching, lace, DIY
- Tranlating the energy into fabric; bleaching, lace, DIY
- 1990s, Maluca Mala, culture clash, Native Americans
- 1990s styling, mish-mash (creepers, 'Spice Girls' shoes, 'Chola' make-up But clothes alone without styling, very modern, streetwear
- 90s 8Bit graphics, silly, moombathon- reggaeton mixed with Dutch House Music
- She takes her styling cues from 1990s, TLC left-eye lopes
- Strange sub-culture that we observed in the internet, very visual culture, references hippies, 1990s and strange underwater culture.
- Influenced our AW12 collection, we used sports/street elements from Basketball and mash-up with Atlantis motifs with Seapunk styling.
- Influenced our AW12 collection, we used sports/street elements from Basketball and mash-up with Atlantis motifs with Seapunk styling.
- Released after our collection, showed us that the Seapunk movement was gaining momentum if a popular rapper/singer was using it for her video.
- Hackers and hacktivism, again the 1990s look. Influenced our SS13 collection
- Tribal influences too, moombahton very african inspired..
- Translated into the textile work of our SS13 collection
- Styling for the runway was inspired by the cyber-punk 1990s culture
- AW13 was inspired by this phenomenom in Japan about the Chicano culture. Chicano= Mexican American So if Japanese adopt this culture are they still Chicano??? Rappers would rap in spanish, english and japanese.
- Influenced our work, Hokusai waves, bandanas, sumo wrestlers, kimono. Mash-up of different kitsch elements exploring the chicano sub-culture.
- Small design collective from Manila, adopted by Kpop celebrities and k-pop fans. They make hand-made bone accessories. Goth aesthetic, makes huge use of social media.
- Small design collective from Manila, adopted by Kpop celebrities and k-pop fans. They make hand-made bone accessories. Goth aesthetic, makes huge use of social media. Landscape of sub-cultures is changing, now everyone can do the same thing around the world thanks to social media.
- Innovators- usually sub-cultures Marketeers love to spot these so they can spot what will make 'money' during the early majority and late majority area of this chart.
- Marketeers don't use the same keyworkds to find certain sub-cultures anymore. Words like Punk have been largely over-used (1 million hits on instagram) but most are not very related...the meanings are changing.
- New languages, #BBLU (far right) stands for Bad Bitches Link Up, how would a markeeter have known this?! It refers to a certain lifestyle of 'bad bitches' (females who are very confident and 'bad' in a good way) who 'get money', look good, drink moet etc. Picture in middle words like 'punk' are used for it plus 100 other hashtags, words are losing their old meanings.
- Perhaps instead of being meaningless, we're building upon a previous meanings.