Case Study- Working Class Heroes

Sheffield Hallam University Fashion Management & Communication

Working Class Heroes: How Luxury Fashion Has Bastardised a Culture in The Search of Authenticity.

Ruby Sanderson 08/12/2017 A case study submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for BA (Hons) Fashion Management & Communication Module : Fashion’s Future The candidate confirms that the work submitted is their own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others.

Sheffield Hallam University ACES Sheffield Institute of Arts Fitzalan Square Sheffield S1 2AY England

Ruby Sanderson

Ruby Sanderson

Working Class Heroes: How Luxury Fashion Has Bastardised a Culture in The Search of Authenticity

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Abstract The aim of this case study is to explore how luxury fashion brands are re-appropriating working class dress codes. Should it be celebrated that there has been an acknowledgment from the fashion industry of the ‘chav’ and its importance within subculture or should there be a feeling/ sense of annoyance and anger that working-class culture is being reappropriated and ripped off?

This study will look at specific, current, luxury brands and pinpoint where their designs have been influenced by the working class. It will delve into the origins of 20th Century working class styles and where they initially came from and what influenced key looks. It will be achieved by researching which brands are currently re-appropriating working class styles in today’s fashion and what is currently trending in streetwear. To be able to understand how luxury brands are reappropriating the origins of the working class and where it all began is also considered. The research focuses on the working-class man, the conditions they lived in and what influenced their values, interests and politics.

Insight was gained through primary research including interviews with fashion professionals such as fashion lecturer, vintage shop owners, stylists, DJs and artists.

Introduction

Ten years ago, it was thought that Burberry’s signature check patterning had tarnished the exclusivity of the British brand due to associations with football hooliganism and chavs. Today, however, it is now being celebrated within the stylistic platform that is British street/youth culture. Christopher Bailey explains in an interview with i-D “You know, I have never been snotty about it, because I feel that’s a very important part of our history”(Salter, 2017). This suggests he recognises that the British youth culture is an important aspect of the brand.

Fashion trends, by their very nature, come and go but Burberry’s signature check has made a surprising come back. After all, it wasn’t so long ago that it was banned from places such as pubs and clubs. An article from the Telegraph in 2004 states in the headline “Pubs ban drinkers dressed in Burberry” (Telegraph.co.uk, 2004) This started in Leicester and continued in other cities. They were trying to target “a certain gang of young lads that have been causing concern in the area” (Telegraph.co.uk, 2004) which they believed had a particular dress code that they could identify them by and it included other brands like Stone Island, Aquascutum, and Henri Lloyd. This is still problematic in most cities today. There are posters in the windows distinguishing brands that aren’t allowed to be worn in the venue.

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Figure 2 Gosha Rubchinskiy in DHL collabortation t-shirt (source of photo by Yannis Vlamos, voguerunway.com). see next page.

The revival of the British luxury brand’s trademark check started when Russian designer Gosha Rubchinskiy collaborated with Burberry on a capsule collection in early June 2017. The show, held at Saint Petersburg DK Syvai in Russia, had eight key pieces which portrayed a technicolour tribute to the Russian rave culture through signature key Burberry designs such as the trench coat. Gosha’s aesthetic delves into the Soviet Culture archive striking a chord with young people all over the world with its deliberately bleak, post-truth vibe. It was a moment of great significance; a reflection on two youth cultures from two different moments of time and geographic location which have come together.

In an interview with Dazed magazine, Rubchinskiy goes on to say “I started to think, ‘What was going on in England- during the 90s? What was the most iconic thing?’ And, of course, it was Burberry” (Allwood, 2017).So, this is how Gosha channelled the Burberry Check through his capsule collection, mixing 1990s Russia and 1990s Britain.

Vetements, which is French for ‘clothing’, is a designer collective created

by Demna and Guram Gvasalia alongside various collaborators, who include stylist Lotta Volkova. Vetements, like Rubchinskiy is influenced by 90s street wear, and they also use real people as their models and focus on oversized fits (Mower, 2017). Demna Gvasalia has “arguably brought anti-fashion back to fashion” (Cochrane, 2017), which could also be described as being punk. Recently Vetements has collaborated with the German courier service DHL for the Spring/Summer 18 collection. Questions that arose around this was whether it was a scam or subversion with a t-shirt costing around £185. In November Vetements posted a cryptic Instagram photo, announcing that the brand would be heading east for a pop-up store in Hong Kong. They captioned the picture “ONE DAY ONLY/ LIMITED CAPSULE COLLECTION/ OPEN FOR PUBLIC/ EVERYONE WELCOME”, they announced the location of the pop-up stall a day before. The collections were sold out of the back of DHL delivery trucks, similar to how the Alexander Wang and Adidas originals collaboration was distributed. “The integrated launch concept was conceived by creative director Ferdinando Verderi, as the truck sale represents a rejection of traditional retail and is inspired by subverting the boundaries between fashion and streetwear and overturning commonly accepted rules” (Sawyer, 2017). It looked like a Hong Kong street market. The pop-up also featured a range of Alpine tourist memorabilia including mugs, souvenir fridge magnets and even sleeping masks with Vetements branding printed on them. Because of the hype around collaborations and the surprise drops- the collection sold out in one day. The popup shop has both a sense of exclusivity and accessibility, as they announced that it is open for the public this suggests that anyone is welcome. However, the exclusivity is that there is only a certain amount of product being made, once it has sold that’s it. This is somewhat a positive thing; nobody wants something that everyone else can have and it prevents the products being filtered down into mainstream fashion.

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The DHL collaboration has a sense of humour, which is a contemporary fashion concept. Vetements aren’t taking fashion too seriously, Demna Gvasalia says in an interview “we are giving existing pieces’ new life”.

This is more than true, no one would have thought twice about wearing a DHL t-shirt until Vetements introduced it to the world.

Gucci also recognised the rise of memes. They created a meme based campaign under the title of #TFWGUCCI which abbreviated for ‘that feeling when’. For example, Gucci collaborated with artist @pollynor for one of the memes. Pollynor is a London based artist/illustrator who depicts the daily struggles of being a woman and demons inside her head. The meme she did for the Gucci Campaign was an illustration of the devil being showered in dollar bills stood next to what looks like a Gucci watch dispenser. Whilst wearing one of the new Gucci watches from the collection. The title of the meme was “Me: i need 2 start saving money 4 the future. *gets paid*” above the illustration. This implies, even though the woman knows in her head she needs to save her wages for the future, the devil of temptation inside her can’t help but buy a Gucci watch, which she probably can’t even really afford. This is probably very funny and relatable for most women that break the bank every month (see appendix 2). The memes were posted on their Instagram page and they were all aimed at promoting their new line of watches. Using memes to promote is marketing genius as they connect with the language of the youth. The memes were funny and relatable across the board. The meme has emerged as a universal language we can all understand, appreciate and enjoy. The success of this campaign is apparent, results show that the memes reached a total of 12,089,005 people and “two of the memes from the campaign are now Gucci’s top 2 most engaged Instagram posts of all time” (Dhillon, 2017). This shows that connecting to consumers through humour is successful and it subtly advertises new products instead.

Literature Review British Youth SubcultureA potent sense of rebellion has always flowed throughout British youth subculture and it is suggested that reason behind this is because “a major attraction of subculture is its rebellion” (Turner and Brake, 1983, pg.

127). Its energy and creative expression has been conveyed primarily through music which has then been further explored in visual ways, such as fashion and behaviour.

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such as fashion and behaviour. Before late night ravers fought with police at illegal free parties in the 1990s, punks were fighting with those establishment figures who upheld Thatcher’s Britain in the 1980s; and the mods and rockers had it out with each other on Brighton Beach in the 1960s.

Teddy Boys Figure 2 A group of Teddy Boys from the 1950s (source photo edwardianteddyboy.com)

Aggression is an energy that was first channelled by Teddy Boys who ignited the flame of British Youth culture in the aftermath of WW2. As men no longer had to go to war to fight they were no longer required to wear an army uniform. However, it could be argued that they wanted a new uniform; one of their own choice. Freedom was crucial.

With the population slowly moving from wartime rations to ideals of the ‘American Dream’, there was greater freedom to dress how they wanted and to create their own sense of style. The main catalyst for this new style was rock ‘n’ roll (Fashionencyclopedia.com, 2017). Teddy Boys were mainly influenced by the rock ‘n’ roll movement and its iconic figures, such as film stars like James Dean and Marlon Brandon who epitomised the rule breaking spirit at the heart of their modern rebellious style. And at the pinnacle of the rock ‘n’ roll movement was Elvis Presley and Bill Haley providing the soundtrack to the Teddy Boy lifestyle (McClendon, 2017, pg. 138). Young men, and Teddy Boys in particular, began wearing clothes inspired by Dandies of the Edwardian era when Savile Row, the Mayfair hub of traditional and establishment tailors, began to re-introduce Dandy style. As their name came from an abbreviation of ‘Edwardian’ the Teddy Boy uniform was inspired by the Edwardian dandies (McClendon, 2017, pg. 138). The Teddy Boy look consisted of an Edwardian-inspired frock coat (with contrasting velvet collar) and slim trousers, worn with the modern beetle crusher shoes.

Hair would be slicked and greased into a ‘Pompadour’ quiff; gaining the name of a “ducks arse” (Perone, 2009, pg 3). Their distinctive style aimed to reject the hidebound dress of the previous generation, they wanted to portray themselves as completely different and as a new demographic. Teddy Boys spent their time indulging in pleasures such as music, buying costly clothing and going to the cinema. (McClendon, 2017, pg. 138). The films that’s they would go to watch at the cinema were hugely influential on how they dressed and the attitudes that they would imitate, examples of those films are Around the Clock and Rebel Without a Cause (Perone, 2009, pg. 3). It seems that the Edwardian dandies and American rock ‘n’ roll music collided in the defiant aesthetic of the Teddy Boys and the look has continued to be referenced in today’s music and fashion. Lead singer of the Arctic Monkeys, Alex Turner, is clearly influenced by the Teddy Boy era and this is seen throughout not only his style (see appendix 3) but also the sound of their last album AM. This provides evidence how subcultures are still being referenced in today’s society.

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Mods Mods and Rockers were two conflicting British youth subcultures that had many physical conflicts throughout the 1960s, especially in popular, working-class holiday destinations such as Margate and Brighton.

Cohen suggests that “the beaches was being on a stage” (Cohen, 1973, pg. 164) for the Mods and Rockers. The Mod style will live on through iconic films like Quadrophenia, and bands of the time like The Who and The Jam. Ted Polhemus states: “they buzzed around on Lambretta, drank espresso, wore Italian suits, had their hair cut in a ‘French’ style and sat through ‘new wave’ continental films” (1994, pg. 50). Such is the potency of the Mod image that it is still relevant for those who identify as a Mod today. Back in the 1960s, Mods didn’t align themselves with a particular social class, unlike the Teddy Boys who were distinctly working class. “If mods wore parkas it was purely to protect their precious suits or expensive casuals from the rigorous life of a life lived on a Lambretta. Their almost puritanical aesthetic sensibilities would never have tolerated all of the badges and scooter mirrors which epitomized the eventual stereotype” (Polhemus 1994, pg. 52). The practicalities of wearing fashionable clothes whilst riding a scooter became an essential part of the look. The green fishtail parka with a fur trim is now instantly identified with Mods not necessarily for the practicalities but for its style.

“Mod, however, despite its use as an omnipresent neologism, had at least four subcultural streams” (Brake 1979, pg. 75) and these subcultural streams were the art school version, mainstream mods, scooter boys and hard mods. The mainstream mods are instantly recognisable and are what people would now typically imagine Mods to have been like.

“For this group there was an attempt to fill a dreary work life with the memories of hedonistic consumption during the leisure hours” (Brake 1979, pg. 75), this differs to the idea of a Mod today because anyone from any type of class system can dress like a Mod, and not necessarily live the typical life of a 1960s’ mod who had a ‘dreary work life’.

This may mean that the Mod style has lost its authenticity over the years as the look has been recreated by others trying to recapture that era but has in effect just confined it into one recognisable, mainstream look which has been referenced by fashion designers; an aspect which will be discussed later in this case study.

Figure 3 Mods on scooters in London. (source photo by Paul Wright, flickriver.com)

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Rockers

Figure 4 Rockers on Motorcycles. (source photo by Paul Townsend, flickriver.com)

Rockers, also known as Ton-up Kids, Leather Boys and Cafe Racers were members of a biker subculture that formed in the United Kingdom during the 1950s. The rockers were generally groups of working class young men who spent most of their times at transport cafes and places like London’s Ace Cafe (Polhemus, 1994, pg. 55). The subculture came about due to factors such as WW2 rationing ending in the UK and a general rise of moral amongst working class youth. Rockers wore jeans (Levis or Wrangler) and black leather jackets which they hand painted themselves; decorating their jackets with metal studs and badges similar to American motorcycle gangs like the Hell’s Angels. Rockers had a tough image (unlike the mods); one which was reinforced by the wearing of black leather and the prerequisite motorcycle. “Until the post-war period motorcycling held a prestigious position and enjoyed a positive image in British society, being associated with wealth and glamour” (Revolvy, 2017). Not only was the motorbike used for transport but also ‘glamorous’ intimidation, they came with the connotation of being overtly masculine and dangerous - this was something that the Mods didn’t like or agree with and they made a conscious effort to appear very different to the Rockers; one that was emphasised by grooming as opposed to the Rockers’ deliberate scruffiness. Perone states that “Rockers musical tastes ran into white American rock ‘n’ rollers such as Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran” (Perone 2009, pg. 2) and this influenced their resemblance of American rock ‘n’ roll stars. However, by the 1960s, Elvis had filtered into mainstream society and the world of ‘pop’, and when the rockers realised this was happening they “set about transforming motorcycle culture into the last bastion of rock ‘n’ roll authenticity” (Polhemus, 1994, pg 57). Rocker style was created out of necessity and practicality.

The heavily studded leather jackets acted not only as a style but as a protection- although most of the time they opted not to wear a helmet and if they did it was an open face one (Revolvy, 2017). Whereas today a leather jacket has been referenced by others, particularly in the following subcultures like Punks which will be shown further in this case study.

Rockers had to keep pushing against social boundaries to maintain their authenticity and to prevent been ripped off by mainstream consumer culture. Although as the opposition (being the clean, cut mods) were continuing to grow through the British youth culture, the rockers were hugely outnumbered and soon became history in the sixties (Polhemus, 1994, 58). Not only did some subcultures adopt the style of the leather jacket but most designers have referenced it as well. For example, the studded leather jacket is seen throughout various luxury high end brands.

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Gucci have designed leather jackets which have a clear influence of the Rockers subculture by adding studs and applique to leather jackets, which would be a more modern and luxurious way of hand stitching a badge on which was the traditional way. But this eradicates the idea of the leather jacket aesthetic being DIY, cheap to decorate and to buy.

Gucci also charge a staggering amount for their leather jackets costing just under £5000, which differentiates between the authentic and the somewhat almost replica of the original motorcycle jacket. As most things, do, luxury fashion then filters and trickles down into high street stores and one store well known and established for its leather goods is All Saints which is a store that is most definitely perceived as being “rock n roll” and people who buy there tend to be buying into that lifestyle, but the prices are still significantly high and unaffordable for the working class. This is an example of fashion bastardising a culture in the search of authenticity, when in fact all it has done is water down the authenticity and made it less affordable.

Skinheads Ted Polhemus states that “by the middle of the 1960s the Mods faced an awesome threat” (1994, page 69). This threat was the fact that being a Mod had lost it sense of danger and authenticity because the look had gone mainstream. They had created this style to remove themselves from mainstream society and to be different. But anybody with a Vespa and parka was cashing-in on the Mod style. Brake goes on to suggest that subcultures allows an expression of identity through a deliberate projection of a self-image, which claims an identity then freed from its class and occupation (1979, pg.16). This relates to the original Mods because they didn’t want to associate themselves with a certain class, unlike the Teddy Boys. But because the style had been injected into mainstream society some of the Mods decided to then harden their look with stylistic codes associated with working class culture. They went back to basics (Polhemus,1994, pg. 69). This meant a rejection of most of what was happening in the pop world and discovering Jamaican Ska and Rocksteady music. These genres of music were brought over

by Jamaicans during the Windrush (Philips, 2011) and had found a new UK home in Afro-Caribbean communities in places like Brixton, London, and Birmingham.

This then leads on to the following subculture, the new, Hard Mods adopted a further and stronger style which ultimately led to the making of the Skinheads. However, around this time in the middle of the 1960’s street style and youth culture was being dominated by middleclass Hippies and the Psychedelics. Because of this the new Hard Mods wanted to exaggerate their look even more which became quite an aggressive working-class identity.

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Figure 5 Skinheads (source of photo by Nick Knight, showstudio.com)

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This new style consisted of “heavy boots and donkey jackets which proclaimed a life of manual labour” (Polhemus, 1994, pg. 70). The skinhead subculture, like many subcultures was heavily male dominant, and by 1968 the culture had grown and they would be found on football terraces.

Skinheads had a very strong and aggressive attitude and this was because they wanted to be the complete binary opposites to the Hippies, instead of “love and peace” they projected anger and violence because they didn’t want to conform to society - they wanted to be the complete opposite to the previous youth culture. They were often found in grim post-war council estates in areas such as Bethnal Green in the East London and Birmingham (Roach, 2015, pg. 20). “By day they wore steel toe capped boots, shortened and sometimes bleached jeans and buttoned down Ben Sherman or collarless ‘union’ shirts. By night they wore Rudie-style mohair suits and well-polished brogues. The look was Modernist sharp, Rude boy cool and working class tough” (Polhemus,1994, pg. 70), the ‘Rudie’ style was influenced by the Rude Boys scene that migrated from the Caribbean with young Jamaicans (Roach, 2015, pg. 22) and the Skinheads admired their clean-cut looking style and adopted the look and the music that they brought over and listened to. This was a great time for Britain as the Rude Boys and Skinheads were very influential, there was a huge mix between cultures.

But unfortunately, even today Skinheads are typically stereotyped as racists but this isn’t true, “No true Skinheads are racist. Without Jamaican culture Skinheads, would not exist. It was their culture mixed with British working class culture that made Skinheads what it is” (Marshall,1991 pg. 139). Skinheads then began to dress smarter by wearing trim tonic suits and smart loafers, they began to let their hair grow out just enough to let it comb over. They wore Crombie overcoats and some would wear bowler hats (Polhemus, 1994, pg. 70). The reason they began to dress smarter to perhaps confuse everyone who was associating the Skinheads with being ‘rough and tough’ and they almost resembled gents. However, like most subcultures it came to a short end by 1972 this seemed like the last phase of the subculture, until there was a revival in 1976 due to the rise of the Punk scene. “In the national horrible league, skinheads weigh in somewhere between serial killers and devil dogs, it’s as if shaving your head and lacing up a pair of DM’s turns you into some sort of dangerous alien life form” (Marshall, 1991, pg.

139). This was the emerging new skinhead subculture that flourished and Punk music and their appearance and values heavily influenced this emergence through the sound of oi! With the sound of oi! came other additions to the skinhead subculture- they began wearing chunkier boots and braces, this became a look that is now typically associated with Skinheads. This idea of a Skinhead has also been portrayed through popular film and tv series This is England, which gives a clear insight into what life was like during the 1970s and the revival of the Skinheads.

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This however clouds people’s judgment and presumptions of the subculture because it doesn’t show pre-1970s skinheads and how they were completely different. Revival skinheads became synonymous with racism and fascism which all of course are a complete contradiction to their original roots and identity. The turned-up jeans, Dr. Marten boots, braces and Ben Sherman shirt was a very strong look, and like the rockers used their motorcycle to be intimidating, the Skinheads dressed to intimidate others as an act of rebellion.

Punks “The punk movement was rebellious, anti-establishment and indented Figure 6 Sid and Nancy (source of photo by to shock” (Beckman, Goldman and Hewitt, 2008, pg. 1). Punks were Steve Emberton, showstudio.com) teenagers that were fed up of living in the political, social climate at the time in the 70s, this was crucial to the formation of Punk (Rock) because it was all about talking about things they were having to deal with. For example, being on the dole, and how the fabrications of society were falling apart, they had 3 day weeks and there were rubbish strikes. John Lydon, also known as Johnny Rotten, former lead singer of The Sex Pistols says that “at the heart of punk was a street culture. It came from kids on the street doing it yourself ” (Bolton, 2013 pg. 20) Punks, like all generations before them did one thing well and that was upsetting the older generation. One group of teenagers in particular that did this very well was the Sex Pistols, renowned for their violence and vulgarity they raised the Punk profile. They sang songs about anarchy and how there wasn’t any future for England with Thatcher being in control as Prime Minister, lyrics were very important to the bands as they were dealing with everyday life. Everyone was annoyed at the state the country was in and people could relate to what the Sex Pistols and punk bands were saying- that of course is if you were part of the working class. The Sex Pistols influenced other iconic bands like The Buzzcocks and Joy Division, there was a new wave of music that was real and the most direct legacy of Punk was the music. Following Punk’s legacy of music then came fashion and the individuality was key.

Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McClaren were hugely influential of the style that formed what we now know as Punk. They were very close with The Sex Pistols, as Malcolm also the manager for the band, and they had a shop where everyone would hang out during 1974.

“The designers Malcolm McClaren and Vivienne Westwood dominated the punk fashion scene through their famous shop on Kings Road in London” (Beckman, Goldman and Hewitt, 2008 pg. 1). The shop is now known as The World’s End- it was the place to be. In London, the bondage trousers were one of the staple items of Punks stereotypical look, they also wore hand-sprayed clothes, ripped trousers and tops held together with safety pins.

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The DIY song writing was just as apparent as the DIY fashions; they would spray political or provocative slogans on their tops. John Lydon explains that he bought clothes from second hand shops and the outfits he put together people found offensive - which he enjoyed. He would wear double breasted suits from the 40s and anything that really stuck out to him but most importantly he bought anything that would break out of what the High Street was trying to sell (Bolton, 2013 pg. 21).

In an interview with Joe Strummer from The Clash he was asked “what is it about punk rock that is so important? He answered “It’s the music of now and it’s in English, not mimicking some American rock singers accent. That’s just pretending to be something you ain’t” (Beckman, Goldman and Hewitt, 2008 pg. 7). Previous subcultures like the this showed that Punks wanted to be true to their roots, they took pride in being British and working class. Economy of price and style was vital. The Punk aesthetic will continue to live on through accident or deliberation, before people started wearing safety pins to accessorise they were used in practicality to fix their clothes because they couldn’t afford to buy anything new but then it got made into almost a gimmick or a stereotype of the Punk subculture. As fashion was already at the heart of the Punk with the likes of Vivienne Westwood it was inevitable that the subculture would continue to be referenced throughout fashion in later years, which undoubtedly it has. “The second you say it’s punk then it really isn’t. It really isn’t. Because it’s a timeless thing. And unfortunately, through media manipulation and sheer laziness of thought, there’s what we now know as the ‘punk’ cliché look” (Bolton, 2013 pg. 22). It has become one of those ‘looks’ that gets repeated if there’s nothing else to do, it’s almost as if people think they can stick a safety pin on something and call it ‘Punk’. Fashion historian Shaun Cole of the London College of Fashion explains “although punk -and this is a simplification- began as a free expression in style and music, it quickly became codified, and the safety pin became one of the elements that signified punk.” (Wray, 2017). “The media was where it started to go wrong, when papers like the Daily Mirror would publish articles telling you how to dress like a punk, which of course brought out the studded leather jackets, which was a great shame because there wasn’t just one particular style that defines it” (Bolton, 2013 pg. 22). This is a recurring theme throughout all of the subcultures, the media destroying an authentic look by stereotyping it and watering it down for the mainstream society and in today’s society with such a huge media platform, no wonder subcultures have been ripped off of their authenticity. Whilst I believe that fashion had a huge impact on the subculture, it was more of the sense of Punk which meant the most, the act of rebellion and the believing in having the rights that they deserved better and they couldn’t give a fuck what anybody thought because they were the ones really living, not the commodity life that everyone else was doing, nodding their heads and going along with the government and Thatcher’s Britain.

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Figure 7 Jonny Rottenn lead singer of The Sex Pistols (source photo by Dave Wainwright sexpistolsofficial.com

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Casuals and Britpop Another subculture to have to have developed at the same time as the Figure 8 rise of Margaret Thatcher was the Casuals. The movement began in Popular Britpop band Oasis. (source the late 1970s and it still resonates today. When Liverpool football fans followed their team to Europe they were exposed to fashion that of photo by Steve Double, oasisnet. com) wasn’t available or accessible in Britain (Hearald Scotland, 2017).

The casual’s street style was created and seen in places like the street corner of an estate, a night club, music gigs and the football terrace (Eror, 2015). The Casuals were groups of predominantly working class men, although it was men of all ages - it was the young who have most successfully translated such loyalty and commitment into an identifiable visual style (Polhemus,1994, pg. 100). They all shared the same beliefs and attitudes, it was about the clothes, the music and the camaraderie. They wanted to attach themselves to the most expensive sportswear they could get their hands on, and they wore expensive designer brands such as Burberry, Stone Island, CP company, Lacoste, Sergio Tacchini, Fila and Ellesse (Eror, 2015). It goes without saying that the casual clean-cut style takes influence from the Mods, with their love for European menswear came a sense of pride in the clothes they wore. Following the casuals came the rave scene, it’s thought that ecstasy distracted the casuals from their perfection of sportswear chic (Polhemus,1994, pg. 101). Although it may have died out, it was only temporary as 1990s Britpop brought back the casual scene, with front men like Liam Gallagher- Oasis and Ian Brown- Stone Roses showing the way. “The term Britpop was coined by the media during the mid 1990s as a way of describing the musical style and to some extent, visual image of new British bands such as Blur, Oasis and Pulp” (Bennett, 1997 pg. 27) the songs that these British bands wrote were relatable for their audience. Pulp wrote a song called “Common People” which is a song that defends the working class British culture, as vocalist Jarvis Cocker (from Sheffield, UK) suggests in his lyrics that despite their poor life choices the working class are doing just fine and unlike the middle class ‘yuppies’ they don’t have to pretend to be something that they’re not. ‘You wanna live like common people’, ‘smoke some fags and play some pool, pretend you never went to school’ are some of the lyrics from ‘Common People’ and they suggest that the middle class are trying portray a working-class image. Not only are the lyrics important in this song but so is the video that coincides with it. Jarvis Cocker is seen walking down a traditional, working class, terrace neighbourhood, whilst images behind him are of typical working class activities and scenarios that occur in a working-class street. The scenarios are young boys playing football, window cleaners and old women hanging their washing out - these are all associations with the working-class life.

Burberry also made a huge comeback in the 90s one reason was because Liam Gallagher sported the classic Burberry Nova Check in the number one selling Wonderwall music video (see appendix 4).

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Liam Gallagher appealed to a young working class audience because he was just like them but he had reached the dream of being in a rock ‘n’ roll band. Fans could relate to him, just like the fans of The Sex Pistols. Burberry was now associated with the Britpop scene, which then appealed to a more working class musical following. Even though it was unaffordable for the wages of a working-class man they still saved their money to buy something from the store, even if it was just a scarf, as long as you could see the Burberry Check that’s all that mattered. The parker which originally was worn by the Mods was revived in the 1990s and became an association with Britpop worn by the likes of Liam Gallagher who then went onto creating his own brand Pretty Green.

“Founded in 2009 by Liam Gallagher, one of the most iconic frontmen in music, the brand unites people through a love of music and fashion.

Named after a track by The Jam, Pretty Green provides simple, classic clothing with a modern twist” (Pretty Green, 2017). Pretty Green is worn by the ‘casuals’ of today, Liam Gallagher has a huge fan base (with a following of 333k on Instagram) his platform is beneficial for the success of his brand and people again buy into the lifestyle of being like him. Pretty Green will be seen worn at gigs and football matches, it is affordable for those of the working class.

Methodology The purpose of this case study is to analyse whether luxury fashion is re-appropriating the styles associated with working class cultures and why subcultures are so important within fashion. This case study will address current trends in fashion and determine whether they have been influenced by working class cultures. It will also analyse the lack of new subcultures in today’s society in comparison to previous years.

The research will be conducted utilising a qualitative research method.

Interviews will be carried out with several fashion professionals to achieve a wide range of in-depth answers from different perspectives.

Qualitative research is “an approach that allows you to examine people’s experiences in detail” (Langford, 2012)”. This allows a better understanding of the participants’ experiences whereas quantitative research methods look more at generating numerical data that can be transformed into statistics. The purpose of quantitative research is to “quantify and research a problem, to measure and account issues and then to generalize these finds to a broader population” (Langford, 2012), which is something that won’t necessarily be needed in this case study as it is looking for answers of a more narrative point of view.

When deciding who to interview for the research, it was prominent that the people being interviewed needed to be very ‘fashion-forward’, who had a clear understanding of the current trends and who would provide in-depth, opinionated answers.

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Owners of vintage clothes shops were ideal candidates to interview as they have a clear knowledge of fashion history, previous trends and subcultural styles. With that knowledge comes an understanding of how they view subcultures - or lack of new ones - today. For their businesses to be successful they need to be aware of current trends and emerging revivals in order to provide for their customers’ needs.

Looking at youth cultures and what they are currently interested in today is something that will be discussed and researched in this case study. Therefore, interviewing Louis Slater, founder of skateboarding brand Sex Skateboards which is based in Sheffield, will hopefully provide an insight on his consumer group and what his opinion is on the state of youth culture today.

The method of carrying out the interviews was face-to-face or via email.

The questions were directly sent out to each person via email for their perusal, prior to the interview (see appendix 5). This essentially provided them with the opportunity to think about the answers that they gave which generated more focussed answers that were very beneficial to my research and analysis. This works a lot more effectively rather than showing up to an interview and asking questions that they had never thought about before. By holding the interviews in-person, the interviewees were able to take the conversation further into a discussion about the topics chosen in the questions, rather than simply answering in Q&A format via email. However, with face-to-face interviews came considerations such as different personality types effecting how responses would be given in an interview context, meaning emailing the questions are better suited for those who are more reserved/introverted.

Another consideration would be time and locational issues, so it was necessary to email the questions to be able to receive any answers.

During the face-to-face interview the conversations were recorded so that they could later be transcribed. The benefits of doing this allowed more concentration when interviewing, meaning that the discussion flowed better as there were no distractions whereas note taking would increase this. Recording the interviews also provides the opportunity to go back to the material and pick up on ideas that weren’t considered before. The only downfall of having to transcribe is that was time consuming, especially when the interviews where for an extensive period of time and this also means the conversation can digress and go off topic. Transcribing added significant time to writing up the findings. In effect, this means that emailing the interviews was less time consuming as it eradicated the need to transcribe as the result were already there.

So, there are pros and cons to both face-to-face interviews and emails.

The questions that were asked for the candidates were tailored to their specific job description, to ensure there would be an understanding of the questions asked.

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Findings and Discussion Topic 1: A lack of contemporary subcultures, todayAs previous subcultures, have triumphed as seen in the literature review, it seems that in today’s society there is a lack of genuine modern subcultures. This, therefore, is the reason that so many luxury fashion brands are re-appropriating working class cultures/style.

Subcultures come from the streets, and the questions asked in the interviews delve into reasons why there aren’t any new styles and subcultures developing today. In an interview with Helen McGuckin, stylist and fashion lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, she goes on to say that: “There won’t be any subcultures now. The way we take in information, images and our like for things is too fast and no one gives time to look into anything and commit to something for long enough for it to be an original subculture”.

McGuckin’s comment suggests that no one really has a strong connection with anything for long enough for it to develop into an interest because people are constantly being fed new information whether that be visual, audio or textually. The reasons behind this may be due to trends moving so quickly as fashion is becoming more and more throw-away, and there is a desire for quantity over quality. Also, the way we communicate as humans - usually via a digital platform and not face-to-face - has contributed to these phenomena of disconnection.

People are able to change their style and look very easily now through digital inspiration such as Pinterest and through the variety of retail outlets offering product. McGuckin also says that “you don’t get passion very much anymore” and the root of all the previous subcultures were ignited by passion. This could have been energy and desire to change things from a political, social and economic point of view. Through these passionate and motivated subcultures there was a sense of determination.

Another reason behind the lack of contemporary subcultures is due to the lack of exposure of street style. “One of the things we are up against is the magazines,” states Rita Britton, owner of Nomad Atelier in Barnsley. Britton explains that years and years ago there were two prongs to a magazine like Vogue: there was the advertising side and the editorial side “and God forbid that advertising ever started to try and influence editorial. This is where it all went wrong”. The blurring of the lines between those brands that provide financial revenue and those brands which pushed the fashion boundaries is because big brands started to demand editorial.

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Findings and Discussion The conclusion to this is that, today, magazines are led by those brands which advertise. Young designers weren’t and still aren’t able to be featured as they can’t compete with the advertising spend (and therefore influence) of luxury brands. Britton says that “this is one of the reasons why it has screwed up the street fashion because young, fresh designers, who might be doing exciting and fantastic things will very rarely be seen”. Therefore, the only thing that youth cultures are being fed is either luxury brands that they can’t afford, or high street brands which are a cheap, watered down version of the products on the catwalk.

During the interview with Britton, her assistant, James Nightingale, brought up another point as to why there is a lack of subculture in today’s society: “One of the reasons why there isn’t subcultures is because it isn’t how we communicate anymore. We communicate with our phones, we don’t communicate as much of ourselves with our clothing anymore, which is a shame” This links to the idea that being part of a subculture meant that it was part of an identity. For example, being a punk meant being anti everything; being a skinhead portrayed the idea of rebellion and this imagery was perceived through the clothes that they wore and the associations they had with them. Today, as Nightingale suggests, people communicate through their phones through images of themselves (the selfie), the food they are about to eat, motivational quotes and their fashion purchases.

Social media has created a platform from which everyone can showcase what they have and that a sense of achievement is created because of this. However, this could argue with the idea that there is a lack of subculture in today’s society because subcultures are built around a common interest. Currently, there are groups forming together, not necessarily in person but via their phones and social media, around current fashion collaborations. This in itself has created an emergent online youth subculture. There is huge hype around the collaborations of brands and ‘drops’ a drop is a “controlled release of a new product at a clip that’s far faster than the tradition fashion cycle and is designed to drive consumer excitement with a stream of constant newness” (Deleon, BOF, 2016) Fans and followers of those brands take to the internet i.e. groups on Facebook, to discuss the movements of the brands and possible drops. This leads onto another common theme within the results and that is branding.

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Topic 2: BrandingAmber Savage, owner of Vulgar vintage clothing shop in Sheffield, stated that the key pieces that sell best in her shop are branded pieces: “everyone is obsessed with branding at the minute.” Savage describes branded fashion as being “like armour for young people. It is a way of protecting themselves; like a shield.” This suggests that young people worry and have anxiety about the clothes that they wear, and if they aren’t branded then there is the assumption that they will not be socially accepted by their peers. This also indicates that they are concerned that others would make negative assumptions about them. The youth culture of today is so obsessed with fitting in - if it’s not branded then it’s not important. This is because of the huge stigma around social media and the fantasy lifestyles that people live through it. Social media subscribers use Instagram to mirror their desired lifestyle to the world and their followers and it is important for them to showcase everything they have - the more branded, the better. Instagram has somewhat become a competitive place for youth culture. When interviewing Jojo Elgarice, the owner of Ragparade, a vintage menswear store in Sheffield, he explains how he has noticed that: “People buy into brands like Stone Island because it has such a strong status with the badge on the arm. Whereas you could be wearing a Stone Island jacket, (which they made a lot of jackets that didn’t have badges) and because they didn’t have a badge, people didn’t necessarily know they were Stone Island unless they were into the brand.”

This implies that consumers don’t necessarily buy into Stone Island because of the brand history or that they like the style and cut of the jacket, but rather that they simply buy it so people recognise the badge and with the badge comes an assumed price tag. Stone Island jackets are known to be expensive, and before they became mainstream, they were mainly seen on the terrace estates. Casuals would buy a Stone Island jacket with their weekly wages that they had saved up and once they got bored of the jacket and if they couldn’t necessarily afford a new one they would swap it with someone on the terrace and it was like getting a brand-new jacket again. This is what created such a great history for the brand. There was that “passion” then, that McGuckin previously talks about, but “now Stone Island is making a lot of mass-produced stuff for the mass market and the changing of owners and investors in it now has made it more of a money-making machine rather than an innovative brand” (Elgarice).

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This refers back to the original question posed by this case study: are brands losing their authenticity due to mass marketing and producing products that will sell out in mainstream fashion? One example of the influence of branding and how it is injected into mainstream society can be seen through celebrity endorsement. For example, Elgarice explains that: “Drake is being endorsed by Stone Island and everyone really wants to wear all the jackets he’s got on and I think all these people have “all the gear, no idea”. They’re not wearing it throughout passion or through choice, they are wearing it because they think that is what they should have on”.

Youth culture today is heavily influenced by celebrities, musicians and other artists and once they acknowledge that someone they like has picked up on a brand they instantly become obsessed with that it too as a way of fitting in. Again, Instagram has had an influential part to play in this: it allows a portal into these celebrities lives which provides a gateway for comparison - if they see someone like Drake wearing a Stone Island jacket they instantly think it is cool and have the desire to get one. This isn’t necessarily because they have an understanding of the brand, what it’s about or if they like the style, but simply because they have seen someone wearing it. This has been shown in prior subcultures that public figures have influence on style, but these influences were of a time when there wasn’t any social media, so they were still underground and authentic. That is until print media recognised the movement and then they would filter it into the mainstream society by producing tabloid articles on “how to be a punk” for example. APPENDIX This is when the subcultures began to fade out because everyone began to dress in the same way. Today, there isn’t a chance for that underground, unknown movement because everything is so accessible and everyone is able to access the internet. However, the need for branding isn’t just down to the youth culture, it seems as though brands are selling out.

Instead of producing different, new innovative designs, they would rather produce products that are heavily branded to ensure mass sales.

Until luxury brands decide to strip everything back and produce clothes that are unique and different there won’t be a change. In the 1990s, branding was very popular and then in the noughties it died out: “Nothing filled that gap. What happens is, you take Yves Saint Laurent, and I’m not talking about the brand, I’m talking about the man, he did some of the most incredibly beautiful clothes and the press fell out of love with him and crucified him. Galliano then was doing more extravagant designs and he was under Galliano’s branding and they crucified Yves Saint Laurent and we still didn’t get anyone really fresh coming through. We got Vivienne Westwood and what did she become, part of the establishment. So, you can walk around the corner and buy some of her bloody horrible plastic shoes that has got absolutely bugger all to do with her. They all end up selling out.” (Britton)

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This shows that’s brands begin to play it safe and by playing it safe they produce products they know will sell, and that is something that is clearly branded. Which leads onto the next clear finding in the qualitative research- the conversation about collaborations and the discussion of whether streetwear brands are becoming the same as luxury fashion.

Topic 3- Collaborations and the crossover between streetwear and luxury fashionRecently, luxury brands have started collaborating with streetwear brands; the perfect example being the collaboration between Louis Vuitton and Supreme. When McGuckin was asked if she thought they had begun to become the same thing she said: “Personally I don’t think they are the same thing. Maybe I am old fashioned because streetwear to me should be a piece good enough to be properly worn, like have your dinner down it and fall off skateboards and take being able to wear for a week straight because you’ve not been home but not being too good that you wouldn’t care about mending it once it’s ripped or dying it because it’s stained or throwing it away when it’s fucked. Luxury is something that should be strived for and respected once you have it. There is a crossover which is happening due to collaborations and accessibility but I still don’t think it’s the same” This brings to the conversation that luxury fashion does bastardise a culture in the search of authenticity because it has used a subculture - in this particular case a skateboarding subculture and its popular brand Supreme - in order to sell more luxury leather goods. However, it removes the practicality of the product because no one is going to go skating in a piece from that collection with the fear of potentially ruining it at the substantial price that they paid for it, with the box logo hoodie costing £650 it is doubtful that anyone would want to damage it. In agreement with McGuckin’s comments on what she believes streetwear is, the collaboration with luxury fashion and streetwear brands creates a whole other aesthetic of streetwear that is to be worn for style not for practicality- i.e. to go skateboarding in. Luxury brands are trying to appeal to a wider demographic by collaborating with these brands and it is influencing again by branding rather than style. New upcoming brands, like Vetements, have played with these collaborations and instead of selling out and collaborating with high, luxury brands like Louis Vuitton they have collaborated with companies like DHL, the popular courier service, and Umbro.

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These are examples that Vetements have collaborated with brands of a very working-class aesthetic. James Nightingale goes on to explain that he thinks that there is: ““A subculture that is happening within the fashion culture about Vetements and streetwear, it has a kind of emergence at a price point that street kids can’t afford. It’s almost protecting that sort of clientele. Vetements is for the people that don’t want to wear the titz ‘n’ glitz but move in the circles that care about people knowing about what they paid for it.”

So, whilst these people are wearing clothes that reflect the working-class culture they are as far away from the realities of it as possible due to the fact these garments cost a staggering amount of money. As they still want to distance themselves from the ‘titz n glitz’, but they still want to portray their wealth in what they wear that is recognisable to another in the fashion circle, it has become a cultural code. This is done by wearing designer clothes that replicate a working-class culture. Which backs up the thesis of this case study, being that luxury fashion re-appropriates a working-class culture.

Conclusion

The working-class cultures and styles explored within this case study will always be recognised and acknowledged within fashion; whether it is because they are being celebrated, referenced or re-appropriated. These working-class subcultures have created defining moments in history through the way they have channelled their passion and rebellion through style. However, no matter how many times their ‘looks’ are re-created and used as an inspiration, the outcomes and interpretations will never be the same. This is because these subcultures and styles were developed through real people with strong viewpoints and beliefs about the world they lived in. They fought the real fight of their times and that is what made them so interesting.

It seems that in today’s society there won’t be a strong enough movement within youth culture to create a new subculture as rebellious and emotive as that of the punks and skinheads. Today’s younger generations are unable to make strong connections with interests that spark a new movement. In order for there to be real change, there needs to be a revolution; one that inspires a revival of individuality and the avant-garde. The future of fashion is hard to predict because the fashion system seems as well-rooted as that of the political. Luxury brands, who have the capability to take over magazines and advertisements through revenue/money, are the driving forces behind today’s bastardisation of old styles that were once revolutionary, and the manipulation of mass consumerism. For there to be a revolution within society and fashion there needs to be an opportunity for new, exciting, young people to make that change.

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This change is currently in the pipeline as new brands like Vetements take a fresh approach to fashion by appealing to the millennial generation’s cynical side and love of irony. This strategy takes away the glamour of luxury fashion and replaces it with humour; not totally unlike the work of Andy Warhol who expressed 1960s consumerisms through his elevation of the everyday -the Campbell’s soup can - to fine art subject matter. The Campbell’s soup can be instantly recognisable to consumers just as the DHL logo is to the Vetements consumer. Is fashion’s future one that elevates the obvious?

It’s a question that Christopher Bailey, the outgoing CEO of Burberry, might have asked himself when he decided to revive the brand’s signature check in collaboration with Gosha Rubchinskiy. The future of Burberry is hard to predict with Bailey stepping down after 17 years at the helm but one thing is for sure: the Burberry check will live on; not just because it has become an important part of British youth culture.

With Vetements and Gosha Rubchinskiy now leading the way of directional fashion because not only does their vision tap into subcultures but also because their designs are easy to replicate for a youth market with smaller spending power. There is also something of the punk spirit about these designers who do not follow the “rules of fashion” in terms of the way they design and present.

In this case study, it would have been beneficial to further investigate current fashion trends to see how working class subculture styles have been re-appropriated within the current AW/17 and SS/18 collections; and to clearly make those links between the past and present. If this case study were to be developed, it would be advisable to interview fashion designers and ask why these specific styles are a constant source of inspiration and to collaborate with Lou Stoppard whose exhibition North: Identity, Photography, Fashion at Liverpool’s Open Eye Gallery was an exploration of ‘the way the North of England is depicted, constructed and celebrated in select photographs, artworks and fashion collections’. With its focus on working class subcultures and their influence on fashion, it has inspired the chapter of this project: an exhibition celebrating Working Class Heroes and How Luxury Fashion Has Bastardised a Culture in The Search of Authenticity.

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Appendices Appendix 1- Figure one is a photograph taken of a poster in the window of a bar/club in Sheffield- West Street Live. It shows the brands which aren’t allowed to be worn in there.

Appendix 2- Gucci x Pollynor Meme

Appendix 3-Alex Turner- reference to Teddy Boys

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Appendix 4- Liam Gallagher, Wonderwall music video, in Burberry

Appendix 5- Interviews carried out

Appendix 6- Interview questions- these altered depending on the person being interviewed and whether the interview was face-to- face or via email

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