by maj » Wed Mar 25, 2015 3:53 pm
i like to make a joke that the majority won't fully start to change till peoples shoes start to wear out, and given the amount of huaraches and airmax that have been flowing out the stores as of late i see it being here ~for a while~. albeit not in its current state as it will inevitably fluctuate as the crowd naturally moves (bmx is getting cooler, genres with all this hype develop to more than they were, taste makers making moves). i'd say if people moved away from all this and there was a return to ~embracing the ladder~ rather than chilling at the bottom it would start with square toed shoes.
definitely agreed in the sense that it's muted and there is not this direct correlation, but the way people dress and the especially the youth has always been tied to how people feel about the country and the direction it's going (mods, skinheads and rockers were all reactions how people embraced or rejected the shift in job market, given times are different now). but i don't think it's shallow because it doesn't feel sold to them on a street level, like people who wear this stuff are still getting mocked and looked at funny by their parents, employers and shop keepers alike, and not everyone is taken in by it (reaction from skeptas fans over the sports direct thing good example). just feels very bottom up as opposed to the top trickling down compared to recent years. while london may be the focus and getting tagged as that by media other youth around the country unconnected to it were having similar moves makes me feel it isn't just originating from one epicentre and isn't just middle class.
yeah there is a valid argument that people are and will increasingly hop on this and wash out any culture from it, but that happens to everything popular and to predict it or say in essence "it's over" before it's really had time to run it's course is a bit :/. it requires the presumption that everyone wearing this is doing it ironically, when it doesn't come off like that to me when you don''t see posts like "poor people clothes lol" but instead people going to nights out and just adopting what they see around them (linking back to the idea the original message gets lost, the more who copy). there is also trouble with criticising everyone who may be middle class going out and mingling in areas they wouldn't have otherwise and taking flintstone and adopting behaviour and instantly assume they're appropriating. when in fact if you have semi decent awareness of a smaller scene and it's happening's and what's going on if anything you're appreciating it at the same level who may not have the social background (for better or worse) of you.but as i mentioned before, appropriation for me is when i see the highstreet or designer with no real connection/ understanding of stuff hawking clothes "inspired by it", not youths buying clothes off ebay and listening to some new albums.
as a side note to anyone not from the uk the class convo may be tedious and not really fashion orientated for you, but it's hard to separate one another in the uk as it's entrenched into everything.