AUTHENTICITY OF THE UNKNOWN by Sinead Gibbons

Authenticity of the Unknown WWW.AUTHENTICITYOFTHEUNKNOWN.TUMBLR.COM Sinead Gibbons N0325008 FASH30001

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day,Thou canst not then be false to any man.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; (Shakespeare 1599: online)

WORD COUNT 7,659

ONE 10

TWO 35

THE TRENDS

THE BEGINNING

SUBCULTURE The Meaning

Overarching Macro Trends

Introduction

HOW TO DO THIS Research Conducted

EVOLUTION The Shifts

EXISTENCE Still Exist?

REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE Rebellion

THE WAY THEY EXPRESS Identity and Individuality

LIFE AFTER YOUTH

THE NEED TO BELONG

Tipping Points

EXTINCT?

Unreachable Places

THEATRE OF PAIN

Skateboarding Subculture

BRAZILLIAN FUNK AND GRIME Pixaco Subculture

ROAMING FREE

Burning Man Subculture

Belonging

SOMETHING TO BE PART OF Community

CO-CREATE

Collaboration and Co-creation

A TRIVIAL WORLD Escapism

44 SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN Immanent Faith

HAVE A BACKBONE Authenticity

EXCLUSIVITY HEIGHTENS DESIRABILITY Exclusivity

THREE 48

THE MARKETPLACE Trends in the Digital Age

48 GLOBAL FRIENDSHIPS Globalization

THE FRAGILE ROAD The end of the Age of Mass

BRAND CULT-URE

THE ENDING

Lazy Oaf ’s Adoption

THE DECISION

THE YOUTHFUL LOT

Implementation Decision

Consumer Profiles

THE MISSION

LAUNCH

Point of Difference

The Launch Strategy

DISTINCTION Why Should Brands Care?

THE KIDS

TOO BIG FOR THEIR BOOTS

The Findings

Existing Brand Adoption

The Current Consumers

ROUND IT OFF The Conclusion

‘OUT OF ONE COMES MANY’ MIMM’s Adoption

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four 70

APPENDICES

Primary Research Produced

APPENDIX 1

Questionnaire results

APPENDIX 2

Interview with Daniel Dobson

APPENDIX 3

Interview with George P. Post

APPENDIX 4

APPENDIX 10

119

APPENDIX 20

ASOS and TH!NK EU Community

Ethnography of Skateboarders

120

APPENDIX 11

Day in the life of packs

106

APPENDIX 12

LESS Clothing Niche Brand

107

APPENDIX 13

Creative Director of VICE

107

APPENDIX 14

APPENDIX 21 Blog

121

APPENDIX 22 Pintrest

122

APPENDIX 23

Secret Cinema Experience

123

APPENDIX 24

Wristband Respondents

Skull and Bones Boys Club

Events Attended for Research

108

125

APPENDIX 5

Interview with Paul Dailey

APPENDIX 6

Interview with Ged Gibbons

APPENDIX 7

Interview with Leviâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Shop Manager

APPENDIX 15

Berghain Interviews

110

130

APPENDIX 17

Bassic Clothing Interview

111

112

Focus Group

127

TUTORIAL RECORD SHEETS

APPENDIX 18

APPENDIX 9

Starting Point

APPENDIX 16

Interview with Sedge Beswick

APPENDIX 8

Interview with Nathaniel

INITIAL BRIEF

Stickers

APPENDIX 19 Posters

Progression Record Sheets

PRESENTATION FEEDBACK Interim Presentation

133

ETHICAL CHECKLIST

Ethical Consent Forms from Interviewees

165

BIBLIOGRAPHY All Resources Used

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The Beginning The aim of this report is to compose a deep and theoretical investigation into existing subcultures worldwide, with an in depth look into the driving forces of why they still subsist today within youth culture, with an exploration into how brands targeting young people could analyse and embrace the trends, to engage and attract an ever-hungry youth audience. The recent economic recession has had prolonged impact on the youth culture within the UK; Government expenditure cuts, low job perspectives and high inflation; has left young people permanently damaged with an uncertain future. The summer of 2011 saw rioting break out across the UK, the rise in University Fees also determined student protests against the Government, with young people directly attacking banks- the symbol of western capitalization; the resulting media aftermath has tarnished people’s hopes for youth in our country, in turn this breakdown in society showed their uncertainty about the future; however, youths of today ‘refuse to sit back and allow the destruction of their world’ (WGSN, 2011: online).

In today’s fast moving and speculative world, young people need something to grasp which makes them feel certain and safe. With issues occurring, alongside the economic downturn, such as environmental change and health and wellbeing leaving them searching for meaning, basic desire and belonging through tough times, these youths want to escape the corporate and the mass market, is this the success of targeting young people today?

Young people of today have more power than ever, ‘activism has returned, it’s cool to care, to fight for your rights and public policy is firmly back on the radar. Whether this is demonstrated peacefully or not, it shows that they are inspired to act by heightened access to each other’ (Crowd DNA, 2011: 15); according to Mintel (Mintel 2012: online) youth spending power is at an all-time low, with a rise in university fees and more young people being sparing with their money, brands which target the youth market need to maintain their attention and compete in a saturated market by offering extra incentives. Subcultures of today exist through exclusion and repression from society; young people across the world are fighting against something as they face uncertainty in everyday life. This report will seek to assess the profound rootedness of subcultures within everyday life and the over-arching macro trends within. Young people of today ‘care about corporate transparency, the future of the environment, getting an education without getting into debt, and honest simplicity.’ (WGSN, 2011: online)

‘Peoples deepest emotions, aspirations, and dreams always need a new language that crystalizes their mind-set and sends their message to the world’ (Gobe in Stiff 2006: 16)

Subcultures will always be a strong existence within youth culture; brands need to explore how to effectively engage with young consumers like that of subcultures, for the future of the retail landscape. Disenchantment with globalisation and coming to the end of the age of mass are leading issues within the saturated youth market of today; ‘mainstream brands don’t have the pulling power that they once had’ (Carmicheal, 2011: online). In the current climate brands need to shift their thinking when targeting young people as they no longer want to pursue large corporate faceless brands, there has been a clear shift to young consumers supporting transparent niche brands. Continuous changes within the market results in youth brands needing to change also. ‘Mass society consists of atomised people, people who lack any meaningful or morally coherent relationships with each other.’ (Strinati, 1995: 6), young people are becoming more independent and want to be able to relate to brands differing from the typical mass consumers.

This research report will explore the viability for current youth brands to adopt the emerging themes, approaches and overarching macro-trends that occur within subcultures, in order to succeed in today’s climate. It will critically address the relationships and emotions between people in and around the subcultures and to how these need to provoke considerable debate amongst brands targeting the youth market. Additionally, it will explore in-depth theoretical explanations which will inform a future recommendation for the current and emerging market. ‘Brands that fail to understand the youth market are sacrificing more than just their bottom line, but their next generation of consumers’ (WGSN 2012:online)

In short, this report will inform the methodology undertaken for research, identify a few burgeoning subculture case studies, define trends from analysis across the case study’s and conclude with how brands can adopt these macro-trends within their brand strategy and targeting youth.

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How to do this Research was a fundamental component to expand the research questions originally developed within workshops, in order to, enable depth and validity to the project findings. As a starting point, this report set out to explore into musical subcultures and the stylistic preferences involved. After vigorous and tough interrogation of the research question, it soon became apparent that the identity aspect and stylistic preferences of subcultures was not just a social identifier but was only a single motive amongst a range of other drivers, thus leading me towards a new brief; to explore the other motives alongside identity which lie behind subcultures, why these exist and how brands targeting youth could adopt these. Subcultures were initially explored, due to their considerable continuous impact on society. (see page 125) Both primary and secondary research was undertaken in order to gain a diverse range of collective underpinning that would be of value to this research project but also to gather reliable data to construct timely recommendations for the second section. Through an extensive range of diverse qualitative and quantitative research methods, I was able to diagnose possible weaknesses within the research project and vigorously expand these to produce solid findings. Research took place amongst a range of different cities within the UK; Manchester, London and Nottingham, alongside these key cities the research stretched to Berlin, Germany; this was beneficial to gain first hand research about the mass creativity born out of repression, the demise of East Berlin and the culture of the closed city. Firstly a Pinterest board and blog were set up. Key points were blogged along the way, this helped gain an insight into the general aesthetic and imagery behind the project; it also gave a deep understanding of the subcultures covered and was helpful for the initial starting point. (see appendix 21 & 22, :120)

22/11/2012 APPENDIX 1 PAGE 71 Initially, in order to gain exclusive data about current youth culture, in essence, youths views on subcultures and on the consumer landscape; an online questionnaire was produced via quicksurvey.com. The questionnaire was piloted, in December 2012, following this 60 questionnaires were completed by a diverse range of people globally. The answers were used to provide a range of data, some of which provided an answer of depth addressing personal preference and opinion. Questions asked about which, if any, Subcultures they belong, or have belonged to in the past to gain theoretical understanding of which subcultures still existed today. This was a valuable part to my initial research because it gave thorough understanding of youth opinions. (see appendix 1: 71) 5/12/2012 APPENDIX 8/12/14/18 The questionnaire was a good starting platform and after analysis I was able to take the findings of these results and target a more specific audience to further initial research, email interviews were sent out selectively to niche anti-mainstream brands to further understand their connections with subcultures of today; these select interviews offered a unique insight and helped gain a greater understanding into the youth market of today. 30/11/2012 After reviewing the 60 responses from quicksurvey.com, it became apparent that many respondentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to the questionnaires didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t currently belong to any subcultures therefore it was necessary to contact some key members from within prevalent subcultures today to gain an insight. George P Post- A committed Burning Man Attendee (see appendix 3: 83) Paul Dailey- Involved in the Punk movement (see appendix 5: 86) Daniel Dobson- a premium member within the Manchester Skateboarding community (see appendix 2: 82)

These interviews were successful as they helped me to gain a further understanding into the trends around these youth movements and gave me the feel of the subcultural aesthetic from the people who experience them first hand.

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GONZO STYLE

20/12/2012 - 24/12/2012 As a second form of research to further my understanding of one of the biggest youth activities in the world, skateboarding, I undertook observational participant research into a few key skate parks the four cities. Skate parks are predominantly known as a place where the youths gather for social purpose; this furthered my understanding into the culture, the community by experiencing it first hand and the communication between the skaters. For my ethnographic results see appendix 20: 119.

I took a gonzo style approach to my research in Manchester within the Skateboard community and plugged myself into the scene, participating, exploring and understanding on a personal level. From this I thoroughly understood about why youths need to belong and feel a sense of participation first hand.

JANUARY 2013 Following the participant observation research into skateboarding, the third area of research undertook was interviews with brand owners and brand directors to find out about alternative brands, niche marketing and what brands targeting youth are currently doing and what they aim to do within the future. Interviews took place with MIMM, (see appendix 8: 89) Levi’s (see appendix 7: 87) and ASOS (see appendix 16: 110); researching a range of different brands on opposing verticals gave me a true insight into what brands are currently doing, what they need to continue to do and how they can do it. Again this broadened my understanding in brands needing to take the next step to target youths, but raised issues into why they weren’t doing anything already.

FOCUS GROUP 15/01/2013 To continue this research, I conducted a semi structured focus group with consumers who epitomized the typical youth consumers. The focus group was specially devised around the scenes and tribes they belonged to and the brands they bought into and why; this in turn influenced my journey on the way to find out what youths want from brands. (see appendix 8: 91) On November 21st 2012, I attended a workshop at ASOS headquarters in London with ASOS and think. eu about their future marketing strategy. This research strategy helped me to discover; through using communities, brands can take a step back making their brand more credible to youth of today. (see appendix 10: 97) 21/12/2012 Whilst conducting research in Berlin, I undertook interviews outside of Berghain nightclub in Berlin, known as the most exclusive place in the city, this furthered my research into exclusivity and why it drives consumers to want more. (see appendix) Following on from interviews, the sixth area of research involved better understanding the youth consumer; to do this; I compiled 41 questions to gain a key insight into their hopes and fears, identity, brands and purchase, leisure and lifestyle. The questions were direct and this really gave me an insight into who these young consumers are, their thoughts and lifestyles. (see appendix 11: 98) DECEMBER 2013 To comprehend the participation of youth within the music culture scenes of today I produced wristbands printed with questions and put them within ‘baggies’ synonymous within music scene [due to amphetamines] handed out in the 4 cities, youths responded via email, thus furthering my understanding into why they were attending these events. (see appendix 4: 84) Stickers and posters placed around the four cities, Berlin, Manchester, Nottingham and London, in specific places where youth gathered in order to get on the spot activity responses, posters had questions on which required you to write your answer, stickers were stuck around skate parks synonymous with other stickers; the answers, although few, gave me an understanding of the new subcultures and what youths consider to be subcultures. (see appendix 18: 111)

VICE

08/01/2013

The seventh area of research I explored was through interviewing the Creative Director of global youth magazine VICE, Rodojoy Dam, about the brands aesthetic and youth culture, his answers helped further my understanding into youth activity and how a brand can become mainstream but still own a niche aesthetic. (see appendix 13: 107)

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SECONDARY Moving on from primary research, I identified it would be beneficial to gain a thorough understanding of subcultures from around the world and the current youth market secondary sources were vital to my research. The below details a review of the variety of secondary sources used within this research:

Trend Reports and Trend Forecast Agencies:

Mintel, Verdict, Nexis, Passport GMID, Brand Republic, Stylus, Stylesight, WGSN and MTV Road Trip. The above were used in order to source industry statistics and to gain a thorough understanding of the current youth market, the activities going on, the latest trends and to discover current trends in imagery within the industry.

Books:

A variety of books aided my research into subcultures, market analysis and branding; these provided me with theoretical understanding and clear insights into subcultures, youth culture and the current market. (see bibliography: 165)

Magazines:

Magazines, newspapers and online articles were integral to further understanding young consumers; magazines were analysed within publications to understand what young people are currently reading but to also explore visuals and trends within current publications, for the layout of the report.

Events:

I attended a number of events and places across the breath of my research such as Watergate club, Berghain nightclub, The Contemporary Art Museum and the Secret Cinema experience, to be involved within what young people of today are doing. The Secret Cinema experience was vital to further my understanding into co-creation and participation within brands. (see appendix 24: 123)

All primary research was conducted ethically according to Nottingham Trent Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ethical code. Detailed explanations about the research project and what it entailed were provided, permission was asked to use quote individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and all participants who were in face-toface contact were asked to sign consent forms. All consent forms and methods are featured after the appendix in the relevant order. (see ethical consent: 133)

These extensive research methods truly tested my research questions and helped gain a thorough understanding of the youth market currently and subcultures from around the world, the research helped further my understanding of the relationship between young consumers, brand communities and the current market.

ONE SUBCULTURE EVOLUTION EXISTENCE LIFE AFTER YOUTH EXTINCT? THEATRE OF PAIN THE BRAZILIAN FUNK AND GRIME ROAMING FREE

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SUBCULTURE Subculture: a cultural group within a larger culture, often having beliefs or interests at variance with those of the larger culture (Ox ford Dictionary 2012:online)

Despite subcultures existence the term is constantly evolving and its definition has a tendency to become obscured, questionnaire respondents (appendix 1: 72) generally responded with the same ideas. The recurring theme which arose was that the subculture definition referred to, a small collection of people who are set apart from the mainstream culture, held together by a common ideology, passion or belief that, in turn, connect to celebrate this. (Question 1, Answers 4/5/7/17/25/52). There are many differing associations with the term Subculture; this isn’t based on lack of knowledge, but rather just people’s post-modernistic ideas because it all comes down to individual’s perceptions.

The debate continues as to whether subcultures still exist today, Clark argues ‘the classical Subculture died when it became the object of social exception and nostalgia and when it became an amendable commodification’ (Clark in Muggleton 2004: 23) thus arguing that once a Subculture becomes mainstream and acceptable to those of the mass population its Subcultural aesthetic dies and therefore less attractive. Subcultures do still exist today across the world through youth culture and the genetic need to belong; Nick argues (see appendix 7: 87) that in the UK there are no longer any defining Subculture’s more so collections of niche tribes, [smaller accumulations of people] due to the digital age and gentrification of the masses.

Are subcultures stereotyped by participants or from the exclusives, those of the masses? Walker argues subcultures aren’t defined by outsiders passing judgment but they are defined by the participants involved. (2006: online) thus leading to further understanding about their aesthetic and participation involved. It is the case that subcultures are misinterpreted across the globe, as they are ever changing, this links the next section which will cover the evolution of subcultures, why they struggle to exist and some defining subcultures that remain today. According to Maffesoli in opposition to subcultures the modern tribe is ‘without the rigidity of the forms of organization with which we are familiar, it refers more to a certain ambience, a state of mind, and is preferably to be expressed through lifestyles that favour appearance and form’ (Maffesoli 1996: 601)

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Evolution Historically, youths were defined by and belonged to only one subculture; their identity was fixed. However in the post-modernistic world, youths belong to several sub-groups (tribes) ‘Their identity is fluid rather than fixed’ and subcultures are ‘temporal gatherings characterised by fluid boundaries and floating memberships’ (Bennet 1999: 603) Subcultures shift, evolve and die many times in their existence, below is my depiction of the evolution of subcultures and tribes, from the early Punk movements to the present day. There are a vast amount of subcultures or otherwise known ‘tribes’ and crossed lines in the present day because youths can belong to more than one tribe and aren’t constrained by one singular identity ‘tribes can have more than one mask and float more freely between them’ (Bennet 1999: 607) Nick Baker, (appendix 7: 87) stated that today it is more acceptable than ever to adopt a few identities and behaviours. Constructing this map was critical to the continuation of my research to see the evolution of subcultures and which ones existed in each decade in relation to political happenings and other drivers.

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Existence What happens to Subcultures when the masses discover them? How do they keep the soul of their existence from being

‘swallowed by the big mainstream machine?’ (Carlson 2011: online) The debate of Subcultures struggling to exist in the digital age continues; the

question that arises is defined as: does the internet refrain specific subcultures and tribes from existing? In contrast many dispute this; digital gives them the opportunity to spread their message to alternative youths who diversely they would have never been able to conjoin with.

Respondents of the questionnaire (see were split 50/50 on the positive and negative impact of the internet; respondent 37 stated, ‘with the age of communication evolving, I feel it is difficult for Subcultures to stay niche as they have to keep updating their identities, in order to compete with others. The internet is an effective way of communication but it has its limitations of everyone using it daily’; appendix 1 Q7: 78)

Subcultures and scenes cannot exist today how they used to like the era of PUNK before the digital age, due to the fact of today’s mass re-blog nation, [word of mouth on digital platforms] today Subcultures as well as messages and behaviours spread like a virus, Malcolm Gladwell refers to this as a word-ofmouth epidemic (2000). Before the internet, scenes could rumble under the radar through influencers for years before the masses discovering and adopting them; scenes and subcultures were kept secret. In contrast the internet does have positive effect on Subcultures, ‘the internet connects and protects the weird [Subcultures] by connecting and amplifying their tribes.’ (Godin, 2011: 22) Connecting similar people from the world over whom otherwise would not have been in union.

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Life after youth “The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behaviour crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.” (Gladwell 2000: 273) Through our inhibitions to constantly have to new cultural shifts will always occur, subcultures, businesses, arts and creative scenes build up over time, they gain popularity, more followers and participants and therefore shifts develop. Once an idea, concept or behaviour spreads like a virus it will eventually die, rumbling back underground until once picked up and explored again.‘The bigger you become, the less appealing you become. It’s a dilemma: somehow, you have to find a way of exploiting the behind-the-scenes benefits of being big, yet at the point at which you touch the consumer, you have to be seen to be small.’ (Boyle 2004: 23) Subcultures will never disappear, they are just abandoned, and a past recollection, buried back underground till it is adopted again or materializes as something different resulting in a huge vicious circle. ‘Some things take a bit longer to be adopted, but once they finally make it to the mainstream, they become ubiquitous all of a sudden’ (Brandes 2003: online), subcultures once adopted by vast amounts of people, explode and become less attractive. This is critical to the continuation of my research to understand why young people do and don’t want to be involved, not only within subcultures but within mass entities.

FACTORS AFFECTING SUBCULTURES LONGEVITY Too available Social visibility Mass adoption Too mainstream Conformity across social systems Market and social saturation Emergence of new alternatives

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EXTINCT? In conclusion Subcultures do still exist today, following are deep delves into subcultures that have organically evolved from unexpected places, in countries where youths has agendas to fight against like that of the UK Punkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in the 1940s. This is critical to the continuation of my research to get a real insight into those who need to and do still belong.

The next section of this report will detail in depth case studies into a selection of subcultures which have been thoroughly explored.

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1.0

Theatre of Pain East Side Skateboarding

Skateboarding is one of the most unique, radical and enduring Subculture’s to resist mainstream society, currently with over 60 million participants worldwide (HUH magazine 2011: online). At one point in time this ‘no hope’ subculture, experienced dark times but skateboarding is now entertained as one of the biggest youth movements today. From humble beginnings, skateboarding has now become a global phenomenon. The sport of evolved from surfing, in California, in the late 1940s. Unknowingly they had no idea they were at the beginning of the epicentre of a cultural revolution; on a journey into what it is today ‘the best subculture in the world’ (HUH magazine 2011: online) Participants gather to collectively show their skills to the rest of the community, giving them freedom to explore and express their identity. Casestudies1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 illustrate three up and coming skateboarding cultures in the world today..

Uganda; China; and Afghanistan.

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Background research into skateboarding.

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cASESTUDY 1.1- Tradition Meets Global Culture: Uganda and the Skateboarding Subculture The Skateboarding Subculture has a flourishing profile throughout Eastern Africa, the first skate park was fabricated in the suburbs of Kampala, Kinitale, Uganda from red soil and bricks in 2009 with ramps momentarily being planned throughout neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania.

Youths in Africa are restricted with opportunities. They’re ‘extremely limited, they all struggle with the negative effects of poverty… Since they started skating they have found a new way to rise up against the idleness and boredom caused by poverty.’ (Uganda Skateboard Union 2012: online)

Through Skateboarding the youths of Uganda feel a sense of achievement and have gained opportunities within a community, it takes youths off the streets. The scene is sponsored by Skateaid, Julie Bosman states, ‘There isn’t much else for kids to do; they all just want to skateboard’ (Skate-Aid, 2012: online)

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The New York Times stated that the ramp is ‘surreal’, ‘surrounded by women washing clothes, men selling flatbreads, children carrying jerry cans of water or playing with home-made toys and any number of goats, chickens and dogs.’ (NY Times 2012: online)

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CASESTUDY 1.2- The rising Superpower: China and the skateboarding Subculture There has been an emergence of many cultural revelations materialized in China due to a history of mass repression, restrictions and poverty from society; Chinese youths have naturally reformed against commonality through different creative mediums. Chinese youths endure a constant ‘battle between conformism and the desire to project status’ (Stylus 2012: online). The youth of China want to adhere to the world and impact individually and as a result they have adopted the constructive activity of skateboarding. Continuing in the report ‘Reinventing the wheel’ (Stylus 2012: online) it states that Chinese youths enjoy and take advantage of their freedom momentarily because ‘they were previously restrained, they let loose a lot more than any other nations and have fun they are much more expressive than ever seen’. The scene is minute in China compared to that of the west, with a community of ‘50,000 among a population of 1.3 billion’ (Stylus 2012: online), however ‘it looks set to explode in the next 10 to 15 years, thanks to televised coverage of the X Games Asia and Grassroots events’ (Stylus 2012: online) Western Channels televise national competitions giving the youths the opportunities to get noticed. ‘With an international feel to The X Games events it is a cultural revolution of its own kind. These are the beginnings of a momentum towards change and amalgamation of cultures with hopefully; active grass roots political transformations downstream.’ (Jiyun in NY Times online: 2007) The rising East youth culture often borrows the ideals of Western influences and makes it their own, ‘the West influences us a great deal. For example, those of us who Skateboard now are all learning from the West, from America. We watch how their professional skateboarders practice, and imitate their methods. The way they dress influences how we dress. We imitate how they skateboard. Watching them inspires us to think about how skateboarding should be.’ (Xiazhou on PBS online: 2012) Thus showing that Chinese youths want to mimic or to be part of a westernised culture due to freedom and the expression it lets them project.

CASESTUDY 1.3- Bomb Hills Not Countries: Afghanistan and the Skateboarding Subculture The subculture is only set to grow here amongst the violence of the country.

(Skateistan 2011 [film] online)

‘We build ramps not bombs’ (Skateistan 2012: online) Afghanistan, the country and its capital is ruled by guns and corruption with children making up 70% of the population (Stocktown [3], 2011: online).. Skateboarding has become a ‘Catalyst for change’ ‘Skateistan a non-profit organisation uses the power of skateboarding to empower the youth, giving them a voice, a platform for creativity and progression, the values of respect and equality, and most of all – the importance of humanity.’ (Stocktown [3] 2012: online) Skateistan set up their organisation across Kabul, Pakistan, Cambodia and recently Mazar-e-Sharif, the organisation is about engaging troubled kids through skateboarding and breaking the cycle of violence in worn-torn countries. Through Skateistan skateboarding has given children hope and a voice, ‘confidence to be part of the reconstruction of their country’ (Skateistan 2012: online) skateboarding has given youth the ability to strive for their dreams, embracing what most of us take for granted ‘being able to drift away and smile and laugh again amongst the war that is happening’ (Stocktown [3] 2012: online) Growing to over 400 participants within Afghanistan, 40% female, giving not only children freedom but the females, who would have never been able to acquire it any other way. Oliver Percovich company director states skateboarding is about giving kids the skills to communicate with each other and build relationships ‘the whole idea behind what we are doing is to build trust between different ethnicities, between different socio economic backgrounds and with children from different places in Afghanistan, way over half the population is under 16, children in Afghanistan don’t have many people that they can actually talk to here they are able to just be free and have fun’. (Skateistan 2011 [film]: online)

THEMES: Participation, Rebellion, Individuality, Identity, Self-Reliance, Belonging, Escapism, Religion. These Casestudys are critical to the continuation of my research through the above themes, it shows youth culture through the Subculture of Skateboarding.

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2.0 The

Brazilian Funk and Grime

Brazil, an emerging economy has creativity exploding every where; through repression copious youth movements are booming. Rio-de-Janerio in Brazil hosts home to two burgeoning youth cultures: ‘Pixação’ and ‘Brazilian Funk’ born in the favelas in Rio which play home to thousands of youths who ‘express their opposition to the fragmentation between rich and poor’ (Trendhunter 2012: online). Heather Ferrigan sums up the politically driven graffiti movement Pixação, (Stocktown [4] 2012: Online) which has been developing in Brazil, specifically São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro since the 80’s: ‘street artists [Pixadores] bomb tags in high unreachable locations, using the city walls to spread their message and highlight social gaps and the disparate distribution of wealth’.

Members of the Pixadores subculture belong to different gangs with different letter formation, the art form cannot be ignored and is considered ‘a political act a form of rebellion by the poor people of Brazil, as well as an expression, a revolt and defiance in the face of authority’ (Stocktown [4] 2012: Online), where they are rebelling against their society through political art forms. The fearless participants of the gangs face extreme conditions rebelling in the way they feel necessary, they risk lives free climbing and speaking out through this expressive art form. One member states ‘I prefer you hate me than ignore me’, the emphasis that this Subculture and these artists aren’t disappearing in the near future. Another member within the video states, ‘the only way to push things forward is to risk something important. For freedom. We are all products of our environment, by creating a language, we’re making people think and ask questions’ thus using art as a way of speaking out. Whilst the government discuss the crackdown on this Subculture one thing is certain the ceilings of Sao Paolo’s concrete jungle ‘will continue to see the Pixadores standing tall above the rest of the city’ (Jones 2012: online) carrying out what they deem necessary in order to have a voice, to speak out against a government they feel is restricting them.“Our society is very capitalist. You’re only worth what you own. With pixacao you can invert the values. You don’t have to have money to be recognized. You just need paint and you can write your name all over the city.” (CNN 2012: online)

‘Art is the place of the purist and most total self expression’ (Thirwell for Port 2012: Online)

THEMES: Participation, Rebellion, Identity, Belief, Escapism, Authenticity, Belonging

This is critical to the continuation of my research because it identifies the above themes through rebelling against their society through a Subcultural art form. AUTHENTICITY OF THE UNKNOWN

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3.0

roaming free

Burning man, a post-apocalyptic, temporary, Subcultural experience with freedom from all institutional obligations, Burning Man lives by three strands ‘Decommodifying, Sacralising, and Enhancing Community’ (Kozinets, 2002: 22) The festivals-turned-subcultures approach is to ‘inspire childlike delight in[to] participants helping to create an atmosphere of surprise and wonderment set apart from everyday experience’ (Kozinets, 2002: 26) Since its beginnings in 1986, the festival-turned-subculture has ‘grown from a small gathering of friends on San Francisco’s Baker Beach to a year-round international subculture’ (Huffington Post 2012: online) 50,000 participants escape to the remote Nevada desert for a social experimental experience.

People who participate in burning man vary greatly, ‘a breathing encyclopaedia of subcultures’, from hippies to musicians and nudists to rocketeers ‘with some exceptions these groups become happily cohabiting groups’ (Kozinets, 2002: 29) ‘Consequently [50],000 strangers unite and come to see one another as a community. They live in close proximity; act with affection toward one another… They dress themselves as openly and as radically as they dare; and help one another. In a week, it’s all over.’ (Kozinets, 2002: 31) George P Post, a true burner (appendix 3: 83) stated ‘There is somewhat of a homogeneity to “Burner Culture.” In actual practice, though, it is a melange of several different subcultures: performers, artists, builders, costume freaks, musicians/music-fans, aviators, desert rats, psychedelic explorers, personal-growth aficionados, and sexual adventurers of various genders and orientations, all coming together to make one huge culture exempt from the outside world. I think that the rise of corporate commercialism has caused our modern world to be mostly very unlike Burning Man, which explains its broad appeal to those who are dissatisfied with the dominant culture’

The event is termed as “an experiment in community- ‘sudden community” and an event that ‘previews what the twenty-first century will be about: spontaneous, diverse communities- real and virtual- accommodating individual expression that is more power ful and imaginative than ever before’ (Plunkett in Kozinets, 2002: 28), this is key for identification of branding. The popularity of the subculture is down to people wanting to escape from the fast-paced society, being part of Burning Man is being part of a meta-physical experience connecting to people differently in a community.

THEMES: Community, Self-expression, Communal Authenticity, Participation, Religion, Belief, Escapism, Experience, Co-Creation, Social Experimentation. This subculture is critical to the continuation of my research because of the building up of key themes particularly through escapism and self-expression. See (appendix 24: 123) for other events like Burning Man researched.

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two THE TRENDS REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE THE WAY THEY EXPRESS THE NEED TO BELONG SOMETHING TO BE PART OF CO-CREATE A TRIVIAL WORLD SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN HAVE A BACKBONE EXCLUSIVITY HEIGHTENS DESIRABILITY

FIG 26.

THE TRENDS The general trends which were derived from the questionnaire respondents (see appendix 1: 74) about the emotions they felt within their subculture were: belonging; collectiveness; community; happiness; and sense of self.

The overarching macro trends that follow are extracted from the wealth of research, analysis and exploration of global modern communities and subcultures and from around the world, these trends will detail further information and offer understanding into trends that will all impact on brand communication and targeting the youth of the future. This is critical to the continuation of research into brand adoption of the motives around subcultures.

‘If brands don’t want to run the risk of getting “youth culture” so wrong they end up being completely ridiculed then they need to fire their lawyers and hand over creative control to people who actually know their shit’

(Brandes 2013: online)

thus meaning they need to adopt the following trends within their brands.

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Rebel without a cause Rebellion is a key factor within subcultures, as it drives them to make statements and gives them opportunity to have their impact on the world, whether this act of rebellion is to boast to friends, to shock and provoke society or to make a statement, youths are becoming adventure seekers and feel the need to stand out. Youths do not want to conform to society. The Subcultures previously covered show anti-capitalism ideals, there are always background political issues as to why youth rebel and subcultures formed and they aren’t always violet, from my trip to Berlin I discovered that it was centre to political rebellion from 1950-1980s and what came out of this was not violence but an expansive underground creative movement, ‘young people have always found fresh ways to rebel, express individuality or form subculture communities through cultural expression: new art, new music, new literature, new films, new forms of leisure or even whole new media forms.’

(Walker, 2006: online).

Within Burning Man, rebellion isn’t that prevalent, although it could be said that it’s rebelling from the mainstream notions through its expressive and escapist motives. The Chinese skateboarders are rebelling against the restrictions of their society and skateboarding as a way of speaking out against repressive leaders; rebellion as a result of oppressive regimes. ‘The

same is true in the Middle East. Governments there will survive by enabling people to reconstruct their own rituals of allegiance, or they will not survive at all. Brands take heed rulers have power only if people allow themselves to be ruled. Once people refuse to obey, governments lose all authority.’(Business Strategy Insider 2011: online) brands need to instil power within young people. Youths of today have agendas, something to rebel against they are reminded everyday about having an un-certain future which only enhances their anti-establishment attitudes.“Every act of rebellion expresses a nostalgia for innocence and

an appeal to the essence of being.” (Camus 1992: 38) In contrast, youths are becoming every increasingly interested in what is going on around them, their future and different cultures so it is important for brands to look forward, ’knowing that global youth are doing the same and waiting to see what brands will do next’ (Narcissitic Anthropologist 2012: online) to help empower their needs and ideas. ‘It is hardly unusual for a young man to be drawn to a pursuit considered reckless by his elders; engaging in risky behaviour is a rite of passage in our culture no less than in most others. Danger has always held a certain allure. That, in large part, is why so many teenagers drive too fast and drink too much and take too many drugs, why it has always been so easy for nations to recruit young men to go to war. It can be argued that youthful derring-do is in fact evolutionarily adaptive, a behaviour encoded in our genes.’ (Krakauer in Into the Wild 1996:182)

FOR BRAND ADOPTION: Empowerment is key for young people, brands need to help young consumers by empowering their personalities and giving them opportunity to believe in themselves. Brands need to be different, making their brand intriguing, do something understated but still rebellious. ‘By attaching their

brand to a developing art movement, the company shows they are on the forefront of contemporary pop culture and the art community.’ (Trend Hunter 2011: online)

Brands need to provide young consumers with something different, they need to change the status quo and create a culture that matters if consumers have what everyone else has they are conforming to society.

In summary ‘[If] it didn’t change anybody’s lives; it didn’t make history’ (Bondaroff in Walker 2006: online) brands need to adopt rebellion in an engaging and understated way.

The way they express ‘It is an anthropological notion that one’s identity is bound by ones culture’ (Weidman and Biel 2003: online) Identity and individuality are key themes running throughout subculture casestudies, the identity and collective associations are created by the participants themselves. Historically youth consumers could only really construct identity within their economic and social class now there is a lot of freedom to construct whoever you want to be ‘Subcultures can therefore be understood, somewhat paradoxically, as collective expressions and celebrations of individualism. The whole thing around any

subculture is that it’s all about individual expression and personality’ (Muggleton 2000: 131).

At Burning Man, identity is constructed by the individual, a name change occurs and you acquire a different social role like that of a fictional character, this is an expression of an alter-ego, the person who the participant wants to be. The young people involved within Uganda Skateboarding customize their boards, showing individual expressions of identity even through their limitations.‘We are individualists now. We all want to be recognized for ourselves, we don’t want to belong. The modern world is fragmented – the old ties and structure that held our lives together are crumbling… consumers are more individualistic, more fragmented and less easy to categorize.’ (Herd 2007: online) The way that youth’s present themselves within subculture are to present more successful, intelligent, more attractive personas in an attempt to gain popularity and more attention from peers.

Young people are constantly celebrating and expressing themselves through alter-egos, displaying desires to ‘meticulously curate’ personal identity. Nathaniel, MIMM shop owner states the success of his shop is due to young people’s desire to be individual and express themselves. (see appendix 8: 89) FOR BRAND ADOPTION: Brands need to celebrate how their consumers choose to express themselves through determination, they need to make their consumers feel like individuals this could mean adopting their brand to their consumer’s identities ‘to see and be seen’. (Nathaniel, 2013: Appendix 8: 89) Brands need to empower their consumer’s individual talents and to let them know that they are key to the continuation of success of their brand. ‘Nearly 85% of youth consumers expect brands to promote individual and collective well-being” (WGSN 2013: online)

In summary ‘brands are being chosen by young people to help clearly demonstrate who they are. Brands need to work hard to get to know young people and clearly display the same values’ (Crowd DNA 2011: 34) if brands encourage and explore identity and individuality they will succeed.

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The need to belong With young people of today having to face a challenging economic landscape, the feelings of generosity and politeness remain in their mind and stick with them; the theme of belonging became prevalent within the subculture casestudies making young people feel involved. ‘the part which the subculture plays in providing an opportunity for the individual is to gain a sense of belonging attained by being part of a group whilst also being different from the ‘rest’ of society’ (Wilson, 2007: 38), its human nature to want to belong.

Within the subcultures there is the feeling of social inclusion, a confidence booster, from my questionnaire (appendix 1 page: 89) almost all of the respondents said that the role of subcultures within young people’s lives is to belong. The focus group conducted, (appendix page) found that young people want to feel as though they belong to something, whether that a t-shirt make or a scene, belonging is key with young people.

FOR BRAND ADOPTION Brands need to create something that youth want to belong to, something that they are proud to belong to and go out of their way to discover and

recommend to others.

Brands need to be something that people want to be a part of, ‘so that they have that sense of both identity and belonging. It’s our nature to want to be part of a community of people with similar interests’ (Business Insider, 2012: online)

In summary, brands that welcome young people and give them a strong sense of belonging will succeed in the retail future. Give the ‘experience first and the cash will flow later.’ (Medawar, 2009: online)

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Something to be part of ‘The community you choose can be a mirror and an amplifier, furthering your interests and encouraging you to push even further.’ (Godin 2011: 22) The phrase community can somewhat be misinterpreted, today communities aren’t bound by geographic presence due to the digital age and extensive travel connections. Community is a fundamental aesthetic within each of

Subculture, creating connections between people who wouldn’t necessarily be connected otherwise; brands targeting young people need to mimic the essence of a community; brand communities could take the ethos of the Burning Man subculture ‘sudden community’ and adopt it.

In the report ‘Retail best practise: Creating a Relationship’ (WGSN [2], 2012: online) Kate Berry reports on how brands need to build and nurture personal relationships with their consumers, she states that brands need to ‘speak to them on a personal level, as they would a friend, anticipate their needs and bring them closer to personal products and services. The aim is to form a community around the brand and bring together like-minded people’; brands need to provide their consumers with tools that can be ingrained into their everyday lives. From the focus group (appendix 9: 91), respondents stated that brands that have a real sense of community would give them more reason to purchase from them in the future they stated they would like to see more brands with communities; likewise from the ASOS workshop (appendix page) community was the main factor in the future of their brand.

’hyper communities stress ideals of caring, passion, equality, humanity, radicalism, innovation, and creative destruction and are local in scope, seek ephemeralness and disruption, and foster caring sharing ideals’ (Kozinets 2002: 25)

FOR BRAND ADOPTION Brands need to connect to their consumers through a community, stay local, loyal and relevant to them; creating physical social communities and networks through their brand making the consumers feel involved and connected.

Solidarity to young consumers.

To conclude if brands create communities around themselves they will gain more credibility with young people and will therefore succeed in the future. FIG 31.

Co-Create ‘Many in the industry believe that collaboration and co-creation between young consumers and brands will become increasingly vital to engaging with the youth market over the next 12 months.’ (WGSN 2012: online) There are a lot of psychological emotions that young people experience, they feel the need to participate, belong and have an impact; they contribute to doing this by being within a subculture. Participation makes youths feel involved and empowered and it should be prevalent within brands targeting young consumers, brands ‘can give young people the support and inspiration that the economy is failing to deliver.’ (Campbell in WGSN 2012: online) and therefore support and inspire youth to engage with brands and make a change. Young people are no longer satisfied with what brands offer brands need ‘to create a point of difference for their brand in an ever-more-crowded marketplace’ (WGSN [3] 2012: online); brands could do this by, exploring something different or by creating hype and a sense of exclusivity, young consumers are more inclined to purchase into brands that give them extra reasons to purchase as it feels worthwhile. Participation is an effective strategy to adopt now more than ever as young consumers have less disposable income and as a result are considering purchasing more carefully, as a result brands need to offer consumers a unique and valuable experience (WGSN [3] 2012:online).

FOR BRAND ADOPTION Brands should empower youths within their brands, offering them support, inspiration and letting them participate where they can, driving youth to do something unexpected. Brands should consider creating interesting personal experience opportunities for young consumers, immersive experiences connecting consumers to other like-minded youths in a branded space.

In Summary, ‘helping people engage in their passions or facilitating their causes can drive loyalty where discounts may not’ (Hagan in WGSN 2012: online), if brands participate with young people they will resonate s trongly with the youth audience.

BRANDS CURRENTLY DOING IT • CONVERSE PRO STREET- launched platform to celebrate youth skills and street culture, through situated video cameras in major cities. • SECRET CINEMA- consumers are the participants within the show, for the film to continue you must participate. ‘People want to be challenged and they’re looking for an experience away from the mundane’ (CNN [2] 2012: online) (see appendix 23: 122) • SMIRNOFF- create your own nightlife experience campaign • DIESEL- school of life, free workshop and fieldtrips • PUMA- launched ‘Social Club’, combination of a shop and café an events space and a nightclub. • STARBUCKS- launched ‘Espresso Journey’ learning about different types of coffee in a library-themed setting.

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A Trivial World Subcultures exist from young people wanting to escape from the everyday troubles of the real world, expand out of their normal ways of living; thus creating or participating in cultures exempt from the outside world; some are

escaping from over-commercialized society but others from un-opportunistic lives. ‘Above all, it is a chance to see the potential for other way of living besides 9-to-5 jobs, commuting, rampant consumerism, and ‘safe’ experience. We all crave excitement and ritual in our lives’ (George P post appendix 3: 83); escapism is about the fantasy of having a retreat. “A lot of youth movements come about from people getting together outside of normality to go and do something different” (Notion Magazine 2012: 23) Participants of Burning Man are escaping from the mass market, logos, money and laws aren’t prominent within the community, trading goods exists and its all about escaping from the leading corporate firms and organisations; the real world. ‘Huge, global brands are now associated with huge global corporations- and huge global corporations are the object of considerable animosity from an increasingly politically and environmentally aware youth’ (Carmicheal 2011: online), the young people of today want to escape from the faceless corporate market. On the polar opposite the Pixadores exist through escaping their un-opportunistic favela lives, likewise skateboarders escaping from the limitations of their countries and repressive societies. From the 41 questions respondents referenced, extravagant plans, they all wished their job was creative and they all referenced cultural touch points wishing they lived in undeveloped countries; thus escaping from the mass market. (see appendix 11: 98)

FOR BRAND ADOPTION Brands need to adopt spontaneity and escapism into their strategies, letting the consumers escape the market, their lives; ‘the normal’ they need to offer something out of the ordinary enticing consumers to lose themselves in a trivial dreamy world. ‘Young people are impressed by brands demonstrating genuine philanthropic initiate’ (Crowd DNA 2011: 15)

In summary, young people face a lot of uncertainty in everyday life, through unstable environments and economies; therefore they appreciate stability and escapism through other mediums; brands.

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Something to believe in Subcultures in essence, can be compared to that of a religion; they have leaders (icons), a following, temples and religious artefacts (style). When young people have no faith in the society they live in they need to put their faith within something else, the subcultures and communities that young people surround themselves with gives them immanent faith and therefore they do not strive to believe in any other religion.

‘Religion is largely irrelevant to most young people, who rely instead on a “secular trinity” of themselves, their family and their friends to give meaning to their lives’ (Telegraph 2010: online) brands should aim to be the secular trinity of young consumers lives. Burning Man encompasses a spiritual dimension to its culture, is the decline of youth believing in religion, down to their commitment to these other subcultures?

‘It’s not necessarily replacing religion it’s just a contemporary expression of the religious idea’ (Stephen Bailey in Thirwell 2012: online)

FOR BRAND ADOPTION

Brands should reciprocate what the subcultures do for the young consumers by creating a frame and dynamic of a temporary religion, giving consumers something to have faith in, brands need to demonstrate passion and belief within youth culture.

In summary, ‘a culture is created around [a] brand based on personality of a small, niche group. From there, they spread the gospel and recruit more followers.’ (Business Insider 2012: online) Brands can be the religion and imminent belief for young consumers.

‘Every violation of truth is not only a sort of suicide in the liar, but is a stab at the health of human society.’ (Waldo Emerson, 2010: online) have a backbone..

Have a Backbone Young people are beginning to feel constantly overwhelmed by the fast pace of modern life they constantly feel their society undermining them, they have strong concerns about their future, the environment and politics; when young people have no trust with their society; they crave authenticity through another medium; brands. ‘Be

believable and honest negatives are inevitable, and the youth consumer will either already know about them or find out about them.’ (WGSN 2011: online)

Authenticity is a key driver within subcultures and should be within brands, but ‘at the time of the internet, notions of authenticity and identity are crumbling at an increasing rate’ (WGSN, 2012: online);

brands need to stay authentic across all platforms.

Brands ‘need to ensure their strategy is transparent, honest

and believable. Standards and ethics need to be met and communicated with an integrity and responsibility, and with a commitment to change practises that are not perfect’, brands need to make young people feel actively involved within their brand and its vision. (WGSN, 2012: online)

Authenticity is key when targeting young people,

“Every piece of research in the global youth market has underlined the importance of meaning and authenticity,” brands can achieve authenticity to the youth market by aligning with causes and the youth markets passion points. (Hagen in WGSN 2012: online)

Creative Director of global youth magazine VICE stated, that they have succeeded because they care about being authentic and ‘young people see through bullshit’. (appendix 13: 107)

FOR BRAND ADOPTION

Brands need to ensure their message is transparent, honest and believable; it should be consistently radiated across all platforms and brand communications visibly.

‘Authenticity or nothing at all’ (Skull and Bones boys Appendix Page Q8). In essence authenticity requires brands to give consumers more reason to engage, through personal interests and topics of relevance to young consumers.

‘If you can fake authenticity you’ve really got it made’ (Thirwell 2012: online)

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Exclusivity heightens Desirability Something only usually connected with luxury; exclusivity is a strong aspect of the future of branding to younger generations. Skull and Bones Boys Club (see appendix page) used the term ‘club’ to make people feel part of something, likewise other online gentlemen’s club sites Mr Porter uses gender to cultivate a sense of exclusivity, it gives consumers the feeling of being ‘in a members club’ (Nathaniel 2013: appendix 8: 89).

The case-studies of the subcultures demonstrate exclusivity by being inclusive; the majority of respondents to the questionnaire (appendix 1: 75) stated that the subcultures they belonged to were not exclusive, but would be more desirable if they were; they also (Q5) said that exclusive brands are desirable because they are prestig-

ious, cool and unique. (see respondents 6/12/23/27/29/30/41/49)

Focus group respondents (appendix 9: 98) stated they would be more inclined to purchase items if they were more exclusive to them, they stated they liked to discover brands themselves ‘just like everyone else, I got told about it and went out of my way to be part of it, its new its different’ (participant a page Q9); Word of mouth marketing, secretive essence and mysterious tone of voice all heighten brands desirability. When rejected from Berghain nightclub Chikay Lo (appendix 15: 108) stated

‘this exclusivity, though unfair adds to the glamour and allure that the city exudes’ (2012 appendix),

exclusivity heightens desirability to young people by creating barriers, but exclusivity only remains until captivated and accepted by the masses it then becomes un-desirable.

FOR BRAND ADOPTION Brands should build a culture around themselves, ‘a members club’ something of value and worth talking about and create an essence of Chinese whispers thus ‘gaining strength, mystique and respect with every telling’ (Carmicheal 2011: online) ; this will make brands continuously desirable.

By putting barriers up, young consumers who are accepted and invited into the brand feel empowered thus resulting in others striving to be accepted by the brand in the same way.

threE THE MARKETPLACE GLOBAL FRIENDSHIPS THE FRAGILE ROAD BRAND CULT-URE THE KIDS CONCLUSION THE DECISION THE MISSION DISTINCTION ‘OUT OF ONE COMES MANY’ TOO BIG FOR THEIR BOOTS THE YOUTHFUL LOT LAUNCH ROUND IT OFF

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The Marketplace The following section encompasses trends within the digital age, which will have an impact on youth branding in the future.

GLOBAL FRIENDSHIPS Globalization has eroded subcultures and brands and has forced them into universalizing their approaches. As brands have become global, there has been a rise in the opposite force, ‘Globalization is not suddenly going to disappear, sending us all back a cottage economy. Nor are we going to un-invent the internet and beat our computers into ploughshares. It’s not going to happen. But simply because globalisation is so powerful, there’s an equally strong opposite reaction going on’ (Boyle 2004: 13); through living in a branded society young consumers are becoming ever increasingly interested in niche brands; localized,

personal and exclusive.

Globalization promotes universal friendships across all cultures but through doing this creates mass societies and global corporate brands, which today have less appeal to young consumers that they once had; mass brands are seen as faceless and transparent. (see appendix 9: 91)

‘In contrast the internet and globalization moves to a more positive force, globalization promotes the exchange

of ideas, different cultures and skills’ (WGSN 2012: online)

Young people of today are becoming ever increasingly better educated, more travelled, they are becoming more interested in the world around them, space, nature, science; in the focus group, (see appendix 9: 91) respondents A B C and E stated they are interested in what’s going on in the world in burgeoning places with nature programmes their biggest interest. In essence although global and corporate brands are unattractive to young consumers brands that connect to young people through highlighting global issues,

projecting the social customs of communities and lifestyles from around the world, on a local level will succeed in the saturated youth market today.

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The Fragile Road The market is coming to the end of the age of mass; it was easy for brands when the pivotal revolved around the mass, now brands targeting young consumers need to head in the opposite direction; niche.

‘Suddenly, it’s cool to be obscure. As non-conventional continues to climb in status perhaps the new strategy is not to significantly publicise your brand to the market at all. Instead, put it out there and wait for the market and customers to find you. Don’t build a brand, create a following’ (Carmichael 2011: online) As researched in previously consumers are expecting more, more personality, more interaction, increased participation and in general more freedom. Brands offering extra interaction will prosper at the end of the age of mass, ‘whens something’s not made for the masses, its more personal’ (Litel in Walker 2006: online), thus young consumers wanting to buy into it more as not everyone has it. In this market situation, independent clothing retailers have prospered, corporate brands are finding their competitors to be niche DIY brands, ‘the deliberately and decidedly obscure cult brand’ (Carmicheal 2011: online); the volume of these brands is forever increasing. The DIY strategy has become prevalent within youth culture as young people are driving opportunities that they once never had by producing independent clothing retailers otherwise known as an underground or anti-mainstream brand.

Respondents to the focus group stated (appendix 9: it would be good if big brands acted more like localized brands, having their ears to the ground. Like Mimm (appendix 8: 89) brands could do this by creating something collaboratively with local talent and facilitating local community’s needs. 91),

‘The contemporary consumer demands more; more originality, more sincerity, more not-in-the-mainstream, a greater goal than just making money.’ (Walker 2006: online) Young consumers feel a special connection to home grown and local brands and thus are more deserving of their money than other mass brands. “If you persist in trying to be

all things to all people, you will fail. The alternative, then, is to be something important to a few people.’ (Godin, 2008: 23)

Although the internet is fundamental in connecting brands to young consumers, brands need to go about it in a different way, they should provide consumers with innovative real life experiences which connect and feed into their online habits to create more personality. In the digital age, youth consumers from the focus group (appendix 9: 91) stated that they feel bombarded receiving mass amounts of impersonalized data, brands targeting young people through the internet need to be personal, create communities around their young consumers and target them in an individual way.

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Brand Cult-ure Freelance Journalist Rob Walker (Walker, 2006: online) believes that younger consumers ‘see products and brands as viable forms of creative expression’; brands need to attract young consumers into their brands through selling them a lifestyle for their individual expression and not just products. There are currently brands that have created communities around themselves and adopted the motives of the subculture phenomenon but none have adopted the themes to their full potential..

‘If you want to bring a fundamental change in people’s belief and behaviour, you need to create a community around them, where those new beliefs can be practiced, expressed and nurtured’ (Gladwell, 2000: 25); the following brands have done this in different ways.

LN-CC, the store is set up in an underground disused bunker in east London it encompasses mixed new fresh talent. You could say the store is ‘defined by its willingness to push the boundaries’ (Another Magazine 2012: online) the store gives the impression of exclusivity as consumers can only gain access to the store through applying online for an appointment, “It’s like

anything - good things don’t just fall on your lap. We are curious enough to go out and search for what we sell and if people want to experience what we’ve got they are more than welcome but they need to put in a bit of effort in also.” (Another Magazine 2012: online)

LN-CC captivates exclusivity by filtering store visits, sending out a consistent message about their brand to consumers.

Ralpha is a cycling clothing brand that communicates its passion for cycling through a varied range of platforms ’From rides to

events, from exhibitions to products, Ralpha brings riders, together’ (Ralpha 2012 online) Ralpha don’t promote their products

but a concept and a lifestyle. They communicate an honest and authentic message and connect to their consumers on a varied range of platforms; Ralpha’s online channel connects to consumers through bringing them stories from cycling around the world.

THEMES: Community, Participation, Authenticity, Co-Creation, Experience Although these brands are adopting some of the over-arching macro-trends from within subcultures, they could still adopt more strategies to personally engage with consumers.

Other brands creating cultures around themselves: • Raf Simons- ‘pride is individuality’ fuses energy and youth culture through exclusivity and independence. • Supreme- ‘An attitude brand, and the store had a reputation as a place where clerks would insult you to your face if you weren’t cool enough’ (Walker, 2006: online) • BubbleTea- Co-creation between science and tea • YMC have built a loyal following of young consumers through their auntethic brand voice • Levi’s put on events for young consumers enaging on different platforms in a branded space. • Diesel Black Gold- fun and youthful contemporary brand fostering a sense of community

THEMES: Community, Participation, Exclusivity, Experience

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The kids Overall targeting young people is about indulging in their hobbies and experiences in opposition to just selling a product or concept. They like to discover new brands that fit within their lifestyle as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;there

is a lot of personal credibility associated with introducing your friends to new thingsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (Crowd DNA 2011: 11).

It is important for brands targeting young people to know their consumers and understand the context of their interests to make the right decisions their; media icons, films, music, technology and politics. Consumer research undertaken showed the following things: (see appendix 11: 98)

QUESTIONS

1-11 were about IDENTITY 12-18 were about SEPNDING BRANDS AND PURCHASE 19-25 were about HOPES AND FEARS 26-41 were about LEISURE AND LIFESTYLE

When questioned on their identity, both sexes expressed themselves in a positive extravert way, showing they are confident and bold individuals, brands need to target them in positive and extravert ways. When asking about who they wish they could be or who they would give all their time to the majority said family or friends, all were interested in space and Buddhism as a religion, this group show an interest in personal community, and secular trinities and therefore brands should foster that into what they do. When asked about where they wanted to live and travel the younger consumers stated economically developed cities whereas the older consumers stated radical, out of touch places, showing the older of the youth consumers are becoming increasingly interested in the world and opposing cultures, brands who foster global cultures into their message or project through their brand will resonate strongly with the older of young consumers. When asked about their lifestyles, they all wished they had creative jobs; wished they could speak another language; wished they could have the creative talent of writing and be better at playing musical instruments, therefore brands need to engage with them through creative mediums and adopt escapism into their brands, expanding young consumers creative abilities.

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THE ENDING Due to the negative factors within the economy today, young people have been left permanently damaged and as a result seeking authenticity, belonging and community through different mediums.

The aim has been to explore and identify macro-trends throughout a range of prevalent global subcultures and state the way in which brands targeting the youth market could adopt them to attract youth like subcultures do. Social trends such as identity through to participation are of influence for brands when targeting young people, adopting these trends will provide more stable futures within the youth market. It has been outlined that due to the current market situation and the end of the age of mass, young consumers are becoming ever-hungry for unique and personal experiences, brands targeting young people need to adopt creative strategies through inviting environments to prosper in the current climate and in the future. The following section will take forward the research underlined throughout this report and adopt the themes discovered to produce an implementation; FIG 43.

a handbook for brands targeting young consumers.

THE DECISION This section will identify the implementation decision, which was derived from the research report into Subcultures and the exploration of how brands targeting youth could embrace the over-arching macro-trends, to engage with the ever-hungry young consumers of today. There were a range of findings from the first stage of this report outlining the major areas that are of importance in targeting young consumers today. Overall research has shown that for brands to survive within the current youth market they need to develop deeper relationships with their consumers by creating positive unique experiences to strengthen their brand position and harness consumer loyalty. Initially I thought that it would be viable to propose and launch a brand that encompassed all the themes found within the research section of this report; it then became apparent that any brand can encompass a range of these themes tailored through commitment and engagement; therefore taking the findings from the first stage of this report, this recommendation is to produce a handbook for brands;

The Authentic Brand Handbook. It encompasses a series of different tips that brands can adopt to succeed in targeting young consumers. As previous findings have shown it is important for brands to connect to their consumers on a personal level. As you can see from the SWOT analysis (on page) there are numerous strengths and opportunities in opposition to threats and weaknesses, as in the saturated youth market brands need a point of difference.

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THE MISSION The Authentic Brand handbook empowers brands to communicate a consistent message and improve their brand strategy to target young consumers. It follows the research that brands need to incorporate the over-arching macro trends that exist within subcultures into their message and create cultures around their

brands to succeed in the saturated youth market of today.

It will guide brands into a youthful oblivion by encompassing specific trends. This brand bible should be integrated into everything brands do and will resonate with any brands trying to succeed in the youth market.

Have individuality. Have passion. Have identity. Have belief. Have authenticity.

FIG 44.

SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGTHS Brands are becoming ever increasingly interested in attracting more consumers through being desirable Niche brands want to know how to stay niche thus will buy into the handbook Only targets specific brands that can be involved thus making it more desirable with its effective marketing concept It is the only way in which brands can succeed within the saturated youth market With the recession brands need more pulling power and the handbook will help achieve this

WEAKNESSES Brands may already have their own idea of how they want to be Getting brands support could prove difficult Wouldn’t be suitable for some brands to adopt any of the concepts Marketplace awareness is light

OPPORTUNITIES Could branch into new market segments, handbook development into luxury or street wear Could be developed internationally, global markets could utilize the handbook An increase in DIY brands being produced by young consumers who could utilize handbook Younger consumers are wanting more and more year upon year from brands and this handbook is the answer

THREATS Brands could latch onto the trends and produce their own set of rules and concepts New competitors could enter and increase competition Consumer’s tastes and behaviours could change Pricing pressures and the economy downturn could mean brands fail or don’t have enough money to buy into the concept

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FIG 45.

DISTINCTION

The Authentic Brand handbookâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s morals are based around consumersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; needs in the fast moving and uncertain world today. As boundaries are being pushed, brands need to meet the ever-changing consumer needs in unique and compelling ways; offer assurance to consumers through communities and participation, offer something to make you stand out, build relationships with them through engagement and experimental experiences; give young consumers a reason to fall in love with your brand.

Brands this is your opportunity to use this book to change your brand; it is the only way to maintain market share and grow in the saturated youth market. It will help you to create new experiences, new opportunities and give young consumers something worth sharing.

If you want to succeed; this book is how. Stand for Something.

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ADOPTION Below are some case studies of brands who have adopted the book within their strategy, to engage and succeed with youth consumers of today. Both have adopted the handbook in unique ways specific to

the dangers they faced.

FIG 46.

‘OUT OF ONE COMES MANY’ Mimm is an independent based clothing shop that combines the creative forces of fashion, art and music by creating unique art exhibitions, stocking independent labels, producing events through its own record label, all within its stand-alone store in Nottingham

RIGHT NOW:

Very successful brand within the independent community of Nottingham but wishes to ‘branch out into other cities’

(Nathial Mimm 2013 8: 89)

THE DANGER: Losing its unique, niche and individual aesthetic by reaching a tipping point thus becoming too mass and therefore become out of touch with their consumers.

THE AUTHENTIC BRAND HANDBOOK For Mimm to expand into other cities their consumers need to feel comfortable and enmeshed within the brand, through this Mimm needs to celebrate their youthful attitude and create cultural building projects. Mimm is going to use urban locations encouraging participation and create communities, hosting events around art and music. Continuing with their emphasis on the local they are going to use local artists and music talent and provide creative space for creative individuals; everything will be locally sourced in keeping with their brand.

‘Brands need to promote individuals talents, skills and let them know they can rely on themselves’ (The Authentic Brand Handbook) Mimm will encompass this theme of identity when expanding into other cities by connecting with young local artists, helping them, giving them opportunities to showcase their work to bigger audiences, in a branded Mimm creative space.

‘Brands need to connect to their consumers through a community, stay local, loyal and relevant to them; creating physical

social communities and networks through their brand making the consumers feel involved and connected.’ (The Authentic Brand Handbook)

Mimm will encompass this theme of community when expanding into other cities by continuation of their creative events, using local people, local spaces and local designers. Nathaniel, company director will hire one creative individual within each city, to take control of each Mimm sub-division, thus catering and anticipating that cities needs and creative individuals on a personal level.

‘Brands should consider creating interesting personal experience opportunities for young consumers, immersive experiences connecting consumers to other like-minded youths in a branded space’ (The Authentic Brand Handbook)

Mimm will not open stores within each city but a creative branded space putting on art exhibitions, zine fairs and independent clothing networking events, connecting local individuals within each city with other creative like-minded young people, events will be branded as Mimm and will be marketed through word of mouth thus creating hype and in keeping with Mimm’s original messages.

‘Brands need to create something worth talking about; something consumers want to be part of; they need to create a sense of exclusivity around their brand, thus making their brand more desirable.’ (The Authentic Brand Handbook) MIMM will launch secretively in each city, firstly flyers will be scattered around creative places, such as bars and art galleries in Spitalfields, Camden and The Northern Quarter, there will be a link to connect to a mailing list which will then send information out about Mimm and their initial plans for each specific city. Through creative people this will create a buzz and a hype around Mimm thus creating a sense of exclusivity around their brand and in essence making the brand more desirable to other creative individuals.

To conclude if MIMM adopts these strategies when launching into other cities, they will continue to stay niche, understated and in touch with their creative young consumers and therefore will not lose their brand ethos.

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FIG 47.

TOO BIG FOR THEIR BOOTS

RIGHT NOW Lazy Oaf is a London label started by Gemma Shiel in 2001 from her garage and sold on a market stall, it designs bright bold street wear for both men and women and encompasses youth nostalgia. The brand still going strong today with a team of six, through their blog, website and social network platforms.

IN DANGER of Lazy Oaf today is seen as a corporate brand straying away from its niche routes, consumers have abandoned it due to its mass mainstream appeal. Lazy Oaf has strayed away from what it originally stood for, niche street wear encompassing youth nostalgia. Now stocked in 250 chain stores worldwide including Urban Outfitters and ASOS, Lazy Oaf is becoming ever increasingly out of touch with their consumers and the youth demographic. Lazy Oaf once apposed capitalism as it was seen for the anti-mainstream elite and has now progressed into the mainstream, controversial by loyal consumers as it opposes its original connection to the arts under-

ground scheme, the brand is losing its creative consumers.

THE AUTHENTIC BRAND HANDBOOK

‘Brands need to provide consumers with something different, if consumers have what everyone else has they are conforming to society’ (The Authentic Brand Handbook) Lazy Oaf will adopt rebellion by producing niche lines for specific consumers, in a limited edition aesthetic, key creative people in local communities will be given the opportunity to buy into the short runs thus creating desirability and exclusiveness within local communities.

‘Brands need to create something that youth want to belong to, something that they are proud to belong to.’ (The Authentic Brand Handbook) Lazy Oaf will head back to their routes and plug back into the creative arts scene within communities; they will produce branded exhibitions showcasing talent from local individuals, something that youth are proud to belong to. Getting the brand back in touch with its consumers will resonate strongly within the target youth market.

‘Brands need to connect to their consumers through a community, stay local, loyal and relevant to them; creating physical social communities and networks through their brand making the consumers feel involved and connected.’ (The Authentic Brand Handbook)

Lazy Oaf will create a physical social community to help consumers feel involved and connected with their brand, they will do this by creating an immersive personal experience for young consumers connecting to them to other like-minded individuals through a branded arts space; such as an arts scheme supporting local young up and coming talent will resonate strongly with the young consumers.

‘Brands need to create something worth talking about; something consumers want to be part of; they need to create a sense of exclusivity around their brand, thus making their brand more desirable.’ (The Authentic Brand Handbook) To improve the exclusivity aesthetic of Lazy Oaf, they will contact specific bloggers and influential people within creative communities to promote exclusive offers bringing them back to the real people.

Brands should empower youths within their brands, offering them support, inspiration and letting them participate where they can, driving youth to do something unexpected. (The Authentic Brand Handbook)

Participation and co creation will be key themes for lazy oaf to continue with their niche consumers, with their current strong online presence, Lazy Oaf will encorporate an online video platform, run by its consumers about current happenings going on within the local art communities, this will empower young people within their brand through participation also connecting others through their strong online presence back to their artist routes.

To conclude if Lazy Oaf adopts these strategies, the brand will be able to head back to their routes and resonate with the creative youth consumers within communities, thus still maintaining its mass but also maintaining its niche brand aesthethic.

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THE YOUTHFUL LOT From in depth research into consumers devised in the first research section of this report, consumers have been identified that would buy into the brands that adopt The Authentic Brand Handbook within their strategies. Two have been identified, ‘The Art Damaged Croud’ and ‘The

Experience Seeker’.

The Art Damaged Croud. He is aged 22. He is a member of the arts community within London, but travels frequently and calls no place home, he enjoys reading about the world and listening to music in his spare time and his style is basic and relaxed. He wishes for his hobby of art to be his job in the future and he is a savvy consumer.

FIG 48.

The Experience Seeker. She is 21. A student and has a strong interest in Uni-Sex fashion, she likes to dress different to her friends and doesn’t like to conform. She enjoys buying more expensive niche items and self-expression is key. She lives in Manchester and interacts regularly with creative individuals within the creative community. She hunts around for new labels and she believes in organic food and recycling.

FIG 49.

LAUNCH Based on thorough research into the market, ‘The Authentic Brand Handbook’ will be launched and enter the market in a strategic way to get brands onboard, the details below shows when and how it will be strategized. Postcards, like those that many youth brands use for marketing will be sent out to brands and brand directors within the youth market and niche market area containing the word AUTHENTICITY alongside a website address. The postcards will play a huge roll in increasing strategic awareness of the handbook to brands; the flyers will be used to excite and interact with the target demographic. ‘It’s

human nature to love the idiosyncratic’ (Carmicheal, 2011: online)

FIG 50.

AUTHENTICITY

FIG 51.

Brands which show interest and are intrigued with the postcard will then go out of their way to discover and find out more about the postcards thus meaning they are intrigued. From this they then reach a website with an exclusive access link to be given the chance to sign up to a mailing list in order to receive more information about the secretive concept. Thus starting a word of mouth hype within brands and the community. AUTHENTICITY OF THE UNKNOWN

A small exclusive underground launch party will be held in the renovated turn-of-the-century warehouse ‘The Village Underground’ Shoreditch and will encompass a debate between Adam Thirlwell, Nathaniel Coltrane Wilson and Ronojoy Dam about targeting youth and brand identity. Brand directors, artists, musicians, graduates and young consumers will be invited to the top secret event, it will be held not only as a book launch but as an industry intellect communicating with brand directors and other creative people about industry awareness. The launch party will be held alongside the worldwide cultural Fashion Night Out week, due to the events global awareness support of local industries through the tough economic climate.

FIG 52.

Brands can apply for individual concepts to be produced for them by specialists on how they could improve their brand and the dangers they face; those interested can then go on to purchase the handbook. The event will also show the tips in action. Much like the findings of the research report word of mouth ‘gaining strength, mystique and respect with every telling’ (Evan Carmicheal online) will be the main tactic for launching this product; Exclusive expanding its Desirability.

The future of The Authentic Brand handbook lies within the changes within the youth consumer market but as thorough research confirms the success to targeting young people today is through the trends derived from subcultures.

ROUND IT OFF To conclude, the purpose of The Authentic Brand Handbook, is to communicate the essence of the future of targeting young consumers to brands, it will show them the ways in which they need to interact with their consumers and the extra incentives that they could offer and provide, for the continuity of partnerships between brands and young consumers.

In essence, tribal nature is part of humanity, brands need to be the desirable substitution in young consumerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives of togetherness afterall its human nature to be in union.

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four APPENDICIES ILLUSTRATIONS REFERENCE LIST BIBLIOGRAPHY TUTORIAL RECORD SHEETS INITIAL STARTING SHEETS ETHICAL CHECKLIST ETHICAL CONSENT FORMS

Appendix 1- Questionnaire results Q1. What is your definition of the word Subculture or Tribe? 1. Gathering of people 2. People who try to be different than the norm 3. Where same personalities collide and form a herd, with its own gossiping, bitching, jokes and laughter. 4. A group of people that is different to the larger culture they are in whilst still keeping some values 5. A collection of people all with the same beliefs, feelings, attitudes to certain lifestyles and ways of living. All trying to go against the status quo and escape from everyday shit tasks! 6. Small group with a shared individual culture 7. A Subculture is literally a culture within a culture. A more in depth description may revolve around the idea that as a basic culture evolves, and although everyone within this basic culture subscribe and abide by certain norms and dogmas, various trends, movements and beliefs come into fruition that create subcultures or ‘tribes’ within that overriding, basic culture. A subculture therefore houses people with similar tastes, beliefs and interests. 8. Sub-culture: a group of people that associate with each other in their own miniature culture with an already established international culture. 9. A group of people which follow a certain way of life and traditions. 10. A group of people with shared interests, styles and outlook on life. 11. Group of people of similar lifestyles who live together or in close proximity or socialise with a lot 12. A group that has their own beliefs and traditions 13. Collective of people with similar attitudes/beliefs 14. A group of people all linked by a similar interest. Possibly fashion or music tastes that are similar 15. A collective from a similar area with a similar way of speech and way of life. 16. It is something that differs from the norm in society. 17. A group of individuals that have some sort of bond other than a social one and collectively distance themself from what is the norm. They do not class themselves as the majority. 18. A group of people who share the same beliefs, views and morals. 19. Africans 20. Selection of people 21. A smaller group of people with similar interests 22. A set or group of people in the minority in regards to how they dress, act or beliefs. 23. A group of people who collectively share similar thoughts, beliefs. Aesthetically they dress similar too. 24. Tribe is a big group of people who all follow either one person or a set rule 25. A subculture would be collection of individuals that share the similar values, beliefs, interests, etc. within but slightly to the left or right of a larger culture. I’m not sure a subculture and a tribe are the same thing. To me, a tribe is a group that exists on its own and does not depend upon the larger culture despite their inherent similarities 26. Small groups of like-minded people 27. A group of people that share one common passion or interest, or a few commonalities under the same theme. 28. Gang 29. A group of people with the same style, music taste, interests, job, beliefs. 30. A community that follows a certain something e.g fashion, music. 31. A gathering or following of people who are all into the same style, music, general tastes and have the same beliefs and feelings about certain things 32. Group of people with similar beliefs 33. A gathering of people who all have the same interests and rules to live by 34. Subculture - I see as a group of people within a larger scale of people with similar beliefs, values and interests. 35. A group of people who share the same interests and enjoy each other’s company. 36. A group 37. These are specific groups within a region have different beliefs or ethic to other communities. This makes them unique and different, which makes people have different views on how they see the world. 38. A group of people who share a common interest, maybe away from mainstream ideas 39. A group of people with the same interests; fashion, music, films etc. The Goth subculture, for example, was formed in the wake of new music in the late 70’s. 40. A group of people with the same interests i.e. the Goth subculture 41. A group of people who enjoy each other’s company and love being around each other 42. A close group of people that live together and have their own beliefs and ways that differentiates them from other people 43. A group of people that all have the same Religion or beliefs 44. People with similar lifestyle or belief 45. A culture within a culture; a group of people with similar interests or values.

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46. People dressing a particular way and doing certain traditions 47. Small group of people belonging to a particular location with particular traditions, history and culture. 48. Subculture. Group within a larger group 49. Subculture is a strand of a certain culture, or a group of people within a certain culture. Tribe is a group of people which adhere to the same beliefs and culture. 50. The coolest kids from a cool gang...basically a group of people within a group of larger people through their differing of opinion or style. 51. Intimate groups who share common interests away from the mainstream. 52. A group of people that share a common interest, aspiration, ambition or passion whom connect in some way to celebrate this. 53. A small, more specific social group? 54. Gathering of people 55. People who all have the same tastes and stuff? 56. A smaller group within a bigger group in the world? 57. Some cool people? 58. Smaller niche social groups or people who are all good friends? 59. Collection of friends 60. Gatherings of tribes like Emo’s and chavs etc so like groups of friends?

Q2. Do you belong to any subcultures, tribes or communities? Or have you in the past? Which ones? Explain. 1. Yes fighting and music tribes 2. I don’t choose my taste in fashion, music etc because it’s quirky or different or norm. I like what I like and don’t care what other people think. Some people try so hard to be different that it isn’t really them, what they think is quirky and cool is just following a crowd. 3. LOA, group of mates who do a lot of nerdy and hipster things (just want to point out, its ‘nerdy’ not naughty’, we’re not that cool) 4. Group of college friends 5. In-line skating 6. No 7. None in particular, no. 8. Bronies, cosplaying 9. I’d say being Mancunian is a type of subculture, so yes 10. I have many times been involved in drama based communities due to my interest in drama 11. University hockey team 12. Been part of sports groups, mainly doing tennis. 13. House music scene, sneaker freak 14. No 15. Subcultures, probably a part of the public school educated network. Sports, part of the rowing and rugby collectives. 16. Yes, I would say I belonged to a subculture. Like when I was younger I was into rock music so everyone who liked that would hang out which each other. 17. Yes, Punk type subculture relating to musical tastes 18. I guess I’m part of a forward thinking fashion tribe of people all doing the same university course 19. No but I have a neighbourhood 20. Fight club 21. No 22. No. 23. No, I’ve always tended to float somewhere in the middle, always striving to find/get to know my own identity. I feel more comfortable around people with similar music tastes however. 24. Sport; hockey football tennis etc 25. I would say no. I’d consider myself more of a citizen of the universe that weaves in and out of the various tribes, subcultures, or communities that exist in the various parts of the world I’ve lived. I feel that now days, subcultures weave in and out of each other as well and you can be a part of many or all of them without even knowing it. 26. Not really, when I was younger I attempted the emo/grunge subculture but it only lasted a few years 27. I’ve done sports a lot and have a great interest in fashion and music but wouldn’t really say that I was part of any subculture. 28. Ballet class? 29. Yes music group, exclusive club nights, skateboarding community 30. Fashion Subculture, I follow particular influences and only buy from certain stores. My taste is quite specific. 31. Yes I belong to a music cult and following and also clubs within my college 32. Yes magazine, I write and edit for it 33. Skiing societies and magazine publishing, I also used to be involved in the punk rock scene. 34. At Uni I’m part of the dance society and the ski and snow society, I also see blogging as a bit of an online community, somewhere I can share my interests with like-minded people 35. Yes. I am involved in many sports tribes, and part of magazine clubs 36. Sports 37. I was involved with a group involved with art and design. The reason for this is that I have a strong passion of design and how it affects daily

activity in different communities. 38. Guiding Used to be a music fan in the 70s, not so much now 39. I would associate myself with the Goth subculture, as I listen to that specific genre of music and dress in such a way that I would be classed as such. 40. Don’t really belong to any music groups I don’t particularly have a fashion or specific hobby. I am in explorers. 41. Yes. I go to burning man each year, it is a community but a temporary one. I just to be a punk and a hippy going through various stages of my life and thoroughly enjoyed ever aspect of participation. It made me happy and have fun when surrounded by the people involved. 42. Used to be on a football and tennis team 43. I used to play tennis 44. Used to be when younger, now don’t have time 45. Education - I was a journalism student, so a large majority of my friends were journalism students also, which makes me feel like I belong to a young media professional subgroup. 46. Not really but I suppose I follow fashions sometimes which could be classed as a subculture 47. Mainly education, e.g. York University, York University societies, university college, College of Law. 48. Sexuality based culture LGBT culture Lesbian subculture 49. Environmental community Sporting subculture - Football 50. Erm...bit of a house nut. Basically with a certain group of my friends we try to go to some naughty deep house nights up n down the UK. 51. Yes, through work & music. 52. I used to be a scene kid, emo, indie kid, topshop bitch but then you grow out of it. I think a lot of the ones I was part of were associated with music taste, and the fashion side came after. I think part of the reason they are referred to as cultures is because they reflect every aspect of a culture from art and personality to beliefs. The fashion and aesthetic is only superficial and acts as more of a social identifier to a subculture if anything else. 53. Tennis, university magazine 54. Music scene through being a DJ you can really get away from all that can you? 55. I used to play sport if that counts? 56. Just education really I mean I go to Uni and we have a pretty big sport social side so I’m guessing you could say that? 57. Magazine and through my internships we all get pretty close and that a bit of a culture 58. through my job 59. Rugby? 60. Music I am a huge part within music and the scenes so yeah music

Q3. Is this group exclusive to just the people involved? 1. YES if you can’t fight or play music you can’t get in 2. N/A 3. It’s quite, but not really. Only if you’re cool and if you’re not, we’ll probably let you in anyway. 4. No 5. Yes if you can’t skate you can’t get in apart from the health freaks that can but they aren’t as cool 6. No 7. N/A 8. Bronies? if you like the show, come join the fandom. 9. No. 10. No, I believe it can often bleed into culture as a whole and may people can adaptt certain aspects of it. 11. Yes 12. Mainly yes 13. Not necessarily exclusive but you wouldn’t know about them unless you were actively involved (i.e listening to the music or purchasing the shoes) 14. No 15. Sometimes they can be, for example those (in my case) who didn’t go to boarding school aren’t part of the group. 16. Yea I believe so, as others who wanted to enter the group at first we were weary off, like they were almost an imposter. 17. No 18. No 19. Yes you have to live there to be in the neighbourhood 20. YEP 21. n/a 22. n/a 23. Not really, no 24. Sometimes, but socially it opens up to anyone 25. I don’t feel that any group I’ve known or worked or lived or partied around has necessarily been exclusive. Exclusivity is the bane of human interaction. 26. No AUTHENTICITY OF THE UNKNOWN 27. N/A

28. Yes 29. The exclusive clubs are, I am from berlin and we only let people into our club if they dress the right way and if they know the set times. Skateboarding is exclusive in a way, if you can’t skate you can’t get involved. Simple. Music groups is exclusive in the same way as skateboarding. 30. It can be 31. Yes the music cult is very underground and you can’t get involved unless you know someone within the group or you produce the music. With the clubs in college you have to be able to do the things that are involved for example.. netball you have to be national level or you won’t get in or get the kit it is very exclusive. 32. Yes only contributors we approach are allowed to be in it 33. Yes they are all exclusive to just members only, not everyone can just be part of the gang, you have to know a route in or just be cool enough to be accepted. 34. At uni it’s open for anyone to join, but you have to pay the joining fee and become a member, again with blogging absolutely anyone can do it. 35. Yes very exclusive you have to be invited to be a part of it or you have to know someone in the group 36. Not really 37. This was an open group who wished to take their skills in design further. 38. No 39. Not generally, but it isn’t really possible to be Goth without respecting the music, fashion and its foundations. 40. No anyone can turn up if they want 41. From the outset it would seem this way because you couldn’t just walk up and get involved you had to wear the certain clothing, speak a certain way and be a certain age. But when involved within the group it didn’t seem exclusive to us, but obviously it was. 42. New people are welcome 43. You had to pay money to be part of the tennis club, so yes 44. No 45. Pretty much, unless you have a strong media interest and can get involved 46. No. Some people follow it all the time so they will buy new clothes etc because they in fashion whereas some people will pick and choose what they like. 47. Yes 48. No 49. No - open to all who wish to join 50. The more the merrier one would assume. 51. Yes. 52. No the beauty of subcultures is that anyone could join them if they desired. 53. No, anyone can join 54. Yes very exclusive 55. Not really pretty much anyone can join 56. Don’t know 57. Nah 58. Kind of in a way 59. No 60. Yeah if you don’t know your shit you pretty much can’t get involved

Q4. When you are with this group of people, what emotions and feelings does it evoke? 1. Happiness fulfilment achievement 2. N/A 3. Happiness, joy and again laughter. If you’re sad, they’ll make you happy and if you’re happy they’ll make you ecstatic. You can get annoyed sometimes, but you do with family. 4. Comfort, fun 5. Happiness, fulfilment, healthiness, connected 6. N/A 7. N/A 8. Happiness and peace among people who would normally hate each other enjoying a show that promotes positive life morals. 9. Happiness. 10. Belonging 11. Happiness and belonging 12. Community, team ship, commardery, relaxation, fun and look out for each other 13. Sense of community knowing there is something in common 14. Happy and Fun 15. Pretty happy, having a laugh, general banter. 16. A sense of solidarity, like you belong to something. Like a second family. 17. Feelings of inclusion and a common bond 18. A sense of competition as we all want to succeed and be part of the same things and opportunities

19. Happiness 20. Sense of Escapism 21. n/a 22. na 23. Confidence, sense of security, no feelings of being judged 24. Happiness, fun, laughter, safety, belonging to something 25. At times the entire range of human emotions can be evoked depending on the situation. But a sense of community amidst like-minded individuals is always something one feels. 26. Happiness and fun 27. N/A 28. Community 29. Belonging, Sense of self, exclusiveness, happiness, excitement, enjoyment, family 30. When I’m with people that dress in the same way or share the same opinions on style I feel much more confident in the way that I am dressed and I’m able to talk about fashion in a more personal way. 31. Belonging, Fun, Happiness, Engagement, Involvement 32. Belonging, Happiness, Fulfilment 33. Belonging, Happiness, Engagement, Fulfilment, Enjoyment 34. It’s nice to be around people who share the same interests and passions as you, that’s the mean reason behind my enjoyment for it, making friends outside of my current friendship group who you can talk about similar stuff with. For example blogging, it’s so nice to be able to talk to so many people so easily who are interest in exactly what I am. 35. Belonging happiness involvement enjoyment 36. With people I love 37. Within this group, we had a different view of how we saw design and how it affects people’s views in creative cultures. 38. A feeling of belonging and enjoying sharing the same things. Being with like-minded people 39. Happiness and belonging. 40. Happiness and a sense of belonging 41. Happiness fulfilment excitement belonging special included friendly fun 42. Competitiveness and happiness and laughter. 43. We all have that in common so it makes me feel really happy 44. Happy, included 45. With this group I feel like my ‘real self’ because we have so much in common, so happiness, and enthusiasm for my career. 46. Sometimes when you are around people that buy into all the new fashions you could feel inferior as they are more fashionable than you 47. Sense of community - having something in common with others in the group 48. Sense of belonging, happiness and ‘fitting in’ 49. Collectiveness Thinking as one Passion Power as a group 50. Happy ones along with the gear we’re on. 51. Fun, happiness. 52. N/A 53. Nothing specific, tennis is an individual sport even when you’re playing with other people, so it’s quite secluded. The magazine is stressful and bitchy, not an overall great experience. 54. Engagement 55. Funnn 56. Belonging community 57. Happiness, 58. Community and fun 59. Collectively 60. Like it’s going off, amazing feeling

Q5. Some brand strive for a niche consumer and because of this are seen to be cultish, why do you think these brands are so desirable? 1. Because you want what you can’t have MAJOR 2. it’s good to different and quirky. Fashion changes constantly. Fashion should be about individuals and being an individual. Same applies to music 3. When a specific celebrity wears that brand, the assumption is that they’re cool and the consumer wants to be as cool as that celebrity. Plus, there’s a loyalty factor, one likes them, one wants to show their obedience, buy brand to show commitment to person. 4. They make people feel different and special 5. Well when people can’t get in on our in-line skating thing they get frustrated and backlash, it’s desirable because you want what you can’t have that’s what makes things desirable

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6. They are embraced into the consumers culture and represent the consumers point of view/beliefs/practices etc 7. Because they’re different. 8. Intriguing 9. Because, a certain brand may be considered “cool” or “better” than other brands (i.e Apple.) 10. Because they evoke a sense of sub-group uniform, la mark that you are part of a group. 11. Everybody desires to belong to something 12. Seen as a ‘one off’ and something different to your everyday brand 13. Exclusivity always heightens desirability, by creating barriers the accepted feel empowered and others strive to be accepted in the same way. 14. Because when people wear their clothes it’s like a trademark, they are stating that they belong to this tribe/subculture and that they are a certain kind of person. 15. Because they make a good quality product that looks nice. 16. Because it’s about being different from other people, but it itself is contradictory as whenever you try to be different someone is going to have the same thing as you 17. Matter of opinion whether they are desirable because they only appeal to the sub culture they are aiming at. 18. They allow you to buy into a lifestyle. 19. To be cool and edgy 20. Cool and hip 21. Because they are seen as exclusive and if you buy into them you are part of something unique and individual 22. Because it is seen as exclusive or individual 23. This is simply due to the exclusivity. Everyone wants to be ‘exclusive’ and seen as a ‘cool’ anomaly. 24. Exclusivity 25. Are they more desirable? I don’t know. It all really boils down to price. And look. i can’t remember the last time I bought anything because it was a certain brand. Do i need a sweater? Yes. Does said sweater look good on? yes. Sold. Maybe more with t-shirts, but i would never buy something with just a brands logo on it. Boring 26. Yes, within their target customer base 27. Because everyone wants something exclusive or what they can’t have. Cult brands are desirable because they are limited; it’s a status thing about being unique and different. 28. Because not everyone has access, people feel left out 29. Everyone wants what they can’t have and therefore want to be part of something they can’t really get involved with. That’s desirable because they can’t get involved. 30. Because they produce products that are one-off can be seen as elitist Make you feel as though you stand out You’re not a crowd follower Often these brands are hard to find so it shows you research fashion and brands. Gives the consumer a certain type of status/intellect 31. Because if you can’t get at these brands or what they sell, you really want it and its annoying because you can’t have it 32. Because you want what you can’t have and therefore if you aren’t allowed in the club then you would do anything to be a part of it 33. You want what you can’t have simple as. 34. The exclusivity and elite status that almost surrounds brands like this, people want to be part of something that’s so niche and one of a kind almost 35. Because you want what you can’t have. 36. Niche 37. Brands are so desirable for a consumer because they have specific values to a people. People have a perception of any brand and when they use its services; they become certain individuals who are entitled to their own identity. 38. People want to be seen using certain brands to show off to their friends that they are either following fashion or have the money to pay for certain brands 39. Because of the way they are advertised. They are put out to people in such a way that it makes them think “If I get that top, I will suddenly become amazingly attractive.” A lot of psychology goes into market research and advertising. 40. It is because of their branding to make them seem like they are exclusive 41. Because people want what they can’t have, if you are from the outside of a brand and you really want the item you are searching everywhere of how to get your hands on the item and how to get involved with the brand. When a brand doesn’t sell to everyone it makes you want it because its niche and its cool. If everyone has an item then you don’t really want the item because everyone has it. 42. The products are quality because the company specialises in certain items. With clothing brand names are preferable as others recognize the makes and this adds price and value to the clothes. 43. Style of the clothing 44. Never heard of supreme! Not sure if Scientology counts 45. Because people strive to belong to this group so that they too are seen as that ‘type’ of person that the brand represents. 46. Because people always want to fit in 47. I’ve never heard of supreme! Brands are desirable because of advertising, celebrity endorsements and because consumers like the connotations of the brand and want others to associate those connotations with themselves. 48. They make other people aware of your ‘culture’ 49. Have a positive image in the public domain - a following which is wanted or desired by others around. Popularity and celebrity status of such brands results in a desire to want. 50. Due to the cool kids wearing such brands first...making the image of the brand perhaps somewhat greater than it actually is. Therefore after a certain amount of time when the brand is more widely accessible it can sometimes be more of a following fashion then a fashion statement. ie

people just wear it as they’ve seen someone they want to emulate wearing it. 51. They appeal to those off the mainstream who tend to be free thinking & in turn those more on the mainstream perceive them or cool & fashionable & follow their style. 52. I don’t think they are particularly desirable and eventually most cult brands suffer a loss to their following- you only have to look at every preceding cult brand (and their tribes/followings) to appreciate this. They become over worn and lose their credibility. 53. Individual? Unique? Prestigious? 54. Because no one else has they and they might be more luxurious 55. No one else has what they sell 56. People want to fit in but want to be able to stand out at the same time if that makes sense? 57. Because everyone wants what they can’t have? 58. Individual 59. The brand might be more personal if they have another level to what they do 60. Prestigious that’s always desirable kind of like celebrity status

Q6. Do you know of any brands whom have produced Subculture shorts/films as part of their marketing strategy? 1. No BUT THEY SHOULD 2. N/A 3. Converse: They mainly turn up on indie films, the main character wearing them at the time. 4. No 5. Yes a few over here but none that are truly inspiring where I stand up and go WOW 6. No 7. Not really 8. Hasbro 9. Apple! Everyone uses Macbooks in TV and Films ... God knows I can’t afford one! So how can some college student in the US? 10. I have not. 11. No 12. Charities? 13. Obey and most skateboard brands like Huf 14. No 15. Yeah Jack Wills and they’re rubbish. 16. No 17. No 18. Urban outfitters, Prada, UNIF 19. Tom Cruise 20. No but somebody should just do it. 21. Levi’s 22. No 23. Not that I can’t think of but I’m sure lots of brands like Stussy and Obey etc have probably done some. All that hipster sh*t 24. No 25. Converse. BMW. Levis. Everyone is doing it now. it’s the new advertising. There was another denim company that did an amazing short film.... Black Denim maybe? I forget, but it was amazing....had nothing to do with denim. Loved it. 26. Doc Martin? 27. A lot of brands use film now in their marketing strategy but I’m not sure I could name any subculture related ones specifically. 28. Opening ceremony? 29. Yes a few small berlin shops did, with artists and it proved to be very successful. 30. No 31. Yes there are a few underground shops in London that no one knows about apart from the members of the clubs 32. Yes, there are numerous brands over here in France which are exclusive or there are products which are only available to certain people who know passwords etc 33. There are quite a few independent brands and nights where it is invite only, look book used to be invite only and it was so desirable because they only selected the best to be a part of their movement 34. Nope 35. Yes there are a lot of independent brands which are invite only. Lookbook nu used to be invite only and was very desirable 36. No 37. Virgin has exclusive services to some members such as Virgin Active. This would target some consumers within a certain demographic; who are interested in health. As a result, this would involve a small market in different regions. 38. No 39. Costco

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40. Costco 41. Supreme. Ln-cc store. Burning man used to be exclusive to just the true burners. Certain magazines 42. None that I can think off 43. No 44. Afraid I’m oblivious to this sort of thing but a friend did once try and drag me into a pyramid selling scam 45. No 46. No 47. Not really - certain brands that are particularly expensive will only attract those who can afford them. 48. No 49. No 50. Perhaps this is more evident in the sale of cars...limited edition Ferraris for example are only sold to people that have been invited to buy them. 51. No. 52. ln-cc amazing shop and it has the right idea to filter out who they want to sell to, sending out a consistent message about their brand to consumers. 53. Going back onto tennis, there was a brand called ttk, that you couldn’t buy, you had to be on the cheshire squad to earn a ttk ‘uniform’ or ‘kit’ so to speak. 54. No 55. Maybe someone like niche? 56. Lots of ASOS marketplace people use them? 57. No 58. No 59. Fred Perry? 60. Maybe like ln-cc?

Q7. With the age of the internet do you feel it is difficult for brands and sub-cultures to stay niche? 1. Yes but it connects people who wouldn’t normally be connected 2. No, better if they are clever about how they market and use PR 3. Yes and no, some subcultures want to become bigger, it’s helpful in that they can help in keeping it 4. No 5. Yes but I also feel it connects people who wouldn’t normally be connected people from different place 6. No 7. If they are popular, yes. A brand is often very accessible because of e-commerce. 8. No 9. The Internet changes everything! Something that might be like a sub-culture in Japan like Gyaru, could become popular here in the UK (I hope for the love of my wifi It does not become popular here!) 10. Yes and no, I believe the nice exists but expands to include more people 11. Yes to a small degree 12. Not if it’s branded properly, but it is easier for more people to access it. If you specialise in something specific it shouldn’t be a problem. 13. Yeah it’s difficult to stay niche when blogs and sites make it so easy to replicate, look at east London fashion and Rhianna’s rip off of it. 14. It is difficult for it not to become too commercial or to attract the wrong kind of audience or for the original message of it to be lost/ confused. However i don’t think that it has to be such a problem, it is up to the brands to be selective about how and where they display themselves. 15. No, because people of their niche market will use the internet to buy the products, those not of the niche won’t see much use for them. 16. Yes, everything is so wide spread 17. Yes, instead of just seeing people styled on the street and in places they hang out you can find styles through blogs etc 18. Yes as they are more accessible to more people 19. No it’s either niche or not at all no half measures says 20. No but would you like a quiche, and take off your leash. 21. Yes because everything that is niche always becomes mainstream eventually 22. Yes because it is accessible and easy to get hold of therefore becomes mainstream 23. I think it’s becoming ‘cool’ to become individual nowadays, the backlash of fashion. Fashion is moving so fast people can’t keep up. It’s hard for brands to stay niche because their consumer is getting broader day by day and there’s nothing they can do to stop it. 24. No 25. No, I think it’s easier because with the internet targeting and singling out groups and separating them from the pack are easier from a marketing standpoint. Fish in a barrel 26. Yes 27. Yes definitely, but I think the internet is not the only medium to market with. People using the internet can expect their subculture/brand to expand because it’s easy to find. If you really want to stay niche than use other means of promotion/communication. 28. Yes because more people have access to things 29. Yes, it is hard for brands to stay niche, but it also helps to connect people of different subcultures from different cultures, we invited the French in line skaters over to berlin to do some work with them and some artists and it proved very successful

30. Yes 31. Yes news spreads so quickly and it’s hard for anything to stay niche.. Even if it’s a secret everyone knows about it and then no one wants to know.. Its old news when everyone knows 32. VERY, words spread like a virus 33. Very difficult for subcultures to stay niche because with the internet information spreads like wildfire and brands can’t keep secrets much of a secret anymore, we are a re-blog nation 34. Internet makes things globally well know, fast information for people, however it can also help with the exclusivity and playing on the niche element as long as the internet doesn’t make it easier for people to copy things easier 35. Yes very difficult 36. YEP 37. With the age of communication evolving, I feel it is difficult for brands to stay niche as they have to keep updating their identities, in order to compete with other services. The internet is an effective way of communication but has its limitations of everyone using it daily. 38. Probably because there is so much information available on Google for example. Media spreads info widely as well 39. Yes. Because information about them is widely distributed, it is hard to keep things ‘underground’. 40. Yes it is very hard to have an underground group now that is not known about 41. Yes very much so, brands spread like wildfire with the age of the internet everyone blogs about them or gives reviews on them, it can be a good thing but for brands who want to stay niche it isn’t good. 42. Yes it’s harder as people want to do all their shopping from one place as it’s more difficult to order from various websites. 43. No 44. It should be easier for them to get publicity but harder to keep any ‘secrets’ safe 45. Yes because these brands are more accessible for everyone to get, and there’s more competition. 46. Now you can order online and don’t have to visit shops so it is easier to get hold of certain items. 47. I think it probably is more difficult than it used to be, but before the internet many brands would not have been able to take off as easily, even amongst a niche group. On the other hand, the internet makes it easier for people to see who is wearing certain brands and may make it easier for the consumer to find associations with a brand, thus making the consumer question whether or not to buy the brand. For example if a consumer likes a pair of shoes in a shop, goes home and then researches the brand, but finds that that brand is associated with a sub-culture that they do not want to be associated with, then they probably won’t buy the shoes. 48. Yes 49. Yes - the internet and social media creates an collective focus around brands and sub-cultures which means closed markets and niche brands are no longer able to be found. 50. VERY. 51. I think ultimately most brands unless started purely through vanity or with no long term business model have little desire to remain niche. 52. Yes most definitely, they tend to spread like virus’ and so it’s hard to remain original which a lot of tribes would strive to achieve. 53. Yes. 54. Yay and nay, it helps them but restricts them also 55. Yes 56. Very 57. Most definitely 58. No 59. Secrets should be kept safer shouldn’t they? 60. YEAH DEFINITLY

Q8. Would you be more inclined to buy into a brand if it was involved with subcultures or marketed to people of your age group? 1. YESSSSSSSSSSSSS because I love learning about the world etc 2. Subcultures 3. Yes, because I’d want to look good and desirable to people my own age, 4. Yes, if the age group wasn’t treated in a foolish way 5. Yes, when things are marketed to my age when they are amazing things like different cultures I remember them and so remember the brand, don’t show me your products, show me how you came about designing them, authenticity that’s how I think it should work. 6. Yes 7. That would depend on the subculture. 8. Maybe 9. Yes. 10. Depending on the subculture and the product, my answer would vary; however, I tend not to buy things on their association 11. Yes 12. Depends what it is, holidays, clothing, yes but other things such as book, sports equipment, cosmetics I wouldn’t. 13. Not particularly, I’m more inclined to look at the price tag and style itself instead of who it’s marketed too.

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14. I don’t think that i personally would be enticed by this, but I can imagine that a lot of people would. 15. Depends on what the product it sold would be, but probably no. 16. Yes 17. Yes 18. No, it would be discriminating other groups of people 19. Yes if it was a cool garment that edgy people wear like those backpacks I want to buy it because it’s cool and edgy and no one else has it 20. Yeah 21. Potentially 22. Maybe 23. Initially yes, but then I would lose interest if they choose to ‘sell-out’ by broadening their market. But that is inevitable for the brand to survive in today’s economic situation. 24. Yes 25. I don’t know. I mean if i saw someone and was like, “geez, that’s a swell shirt. Where’d you get it?” I might go get it, but probably night. I’d just remember the look if I thought it would suit me and find something similar 26. Not anymore but when I was younger, yes 27. I can’t say really, it would depend entirely on the products and the brand. 28. Yes 29. Yes definitely I would feel like I would be able to relate to it, on a more personal level. 30. Producing too much of one item (mass production), once it has sold out it should stay that way. Niche brands start to follow/display trend influences instead of staying true to who they are. The internet - Blogging Fakes/ Copies. 31. When everyone is wearing the brand, or when everyone knows about it.. no one wants to be the same everyone should be an individual in their own right. 32. When the wrong consumers are wearing the brand 33. Not reaching the right consumer, collaborations with brands that aren’t good, over publicizing 34. Demand for product more sales therefore profit in becoming main stream Not well known enough to survive in a niche market 35. Marketing to the wrong audience and having no personality behind their brand 36. Yeah 37. The factors that would affect a brand’s longevity would be its reputation and their values. If a brand has a good reputation then people are more likely to use its services. In addition, their values and tone would appeal to different people within certain groups. 38. Good quality Trustworthiness Changing over time an sleeping up to date 39. The internet Celebrity endorsement Advertising 40. 1. Becoming viral on the internet 2. Having celebrity status 3. Advertising 41. Celebrities. Teenagers wearing the brands. Hundreds of people wearing items. Mums wearing the brand. Advertisement. 42. Quality, price and target market 43. 1, type of age they are aimed at 2, size 3, if the clothes are available on in high street stores, rather than over the internet 44. Getting celebrities to back/use it 45. Originality 46. Not sure 47. Factors which cause brand to turn mainstream in ranked order (1 being the strongest factor): . Number of people wearing them . Good brand and PR . Advertising . Celebrity endorsement . Affordability . Quality of product (repeat purchasing) 48. Shit quality 49. Popularity Celebrity status Price On trend 50. Advertisement in the mainstream market. Chains selling the product rather than more niche one off stores. 51. Unfortunately links to celebrity & popular music. 52. Celebrities use of a label to sell a product- why not just creates beautiful garments without having to slap a brand name across the front?! Merchandiser/buyer has a lot to answer for. If brands weren’t so greedy, their brands would stay credible for longer, they would earn more respect amongst their tribes and probably defeat the inevitable crossing of the cult curtains. 53. Accessibility, so the internet is one way more brands are more attainable. Marketing and advertising as well, the more a brand is advertised the more people will search it out. 54. When people who aren’t cool or don’t know anything about the brand buy into it 55. When its liked to the mainstream 56. When people I don’t like are wearing it so like scene kids 57. Celebs get their hands on it 58. If available on the high-street then that isn’t cool 59. Too accessible I like things to be mine and mine only 60. When one direction start wearing it

Q9. What do you feel the importance is of subcultures? 1. To enjoy feel wanted and to have fun 2. Good for people and groups to be different with different tastes. World would be boring if we were all the same 3. They create a new sense of belonging; we all know we’re British. But Britain gets bad connotation sometimes. To know you have a group

which you feel happy and proud to be in creates a new sense of patriotism. 4. Every culture needs variety to develop and adapt, otherwise they’d become stale and even become rebellious 5. To connect people in tribes who wouldn’t normally be connected. To enjoy life and to escape from the real world 6. Good for smaller business/distributors 7. They’re important because they differentiate us from one-another. Countries that have little difference from class to class, North Korea being an obvious modern example, lack freedom, and subcultures give us that. 8. Normal life is boring 9. Everyone likes to fit in! And everyone likes to feel a part of something! Even if it’s trying to out beat one and other on who knows the most obscure music. (I win every time!) 10. They help people sculpt their identities and find those whom they would get along with easily. 11. Feeling involved and a part of something bigger than yourself 12. To have its own divide in a community to creates its own group for comfort and similar beliefs. 13. Sense of belonging that people always strive for. Which is in turn fully taken advantage of by marketers 14. It makes people feel like they are part of something. 15. A sense of identity. 16. Shows people aren’t all the same even if in reality they are, but i suppose they are trying to be something different 17. Breaks down the norm. Gives an avenue of individuality even if effectively you are just copying others 18. They satisfy our human nature to want to belong 19. To socialise more with your neighbours 20. Identity 21. New ideas, bringing people together, creativity and the chance for brands to target these subcultures and generate money from them. 22. Having a group to belong to 23. I think it’s great for youths of today to feel like they ‘belong’, or to simply just share interests with like-minded people. However i think it is gradually fading out. 24. important for differentiation 25. Community feel, good times had by all, a shared consciousness of sorts. But it’s also good to be a part of others. I guess what I’m getting at is that it’s better to not align yourself with just one subculture, but with several. The more you know, the more you share, the better. 26. I think it’s important that everyone is different and subcultures help this, as they can be different whilst still finding like-minded people to associate with 27. I think they add depth to society; it would be boring if everyone was the same. 28. Makes a brand more exciting 29. To teach young people about belonging and trust and support. 30. To feel secure that you are like other people, without being too mainstream and blending in. 31. To let people escape from everyday life. Escapism is key in day to day life because without it the world would go crazy 32. To make people feel welcomed and have something to escape to outside of the regular 9-5 job 33. Subcultures are important because they are something exciting and interesting to do outside the average mundane 9-5 job 34. Brings people together 35. To escape from everyday mundane life and evoke emotions and personality with like-minded people 36. Escape society 37. The important of subcultures is allowing small groups to differentiate themselves from larger populations. This allows them to represent their individuality and views to other populations. 38. It is good to have variety; it would be very boring if we all thought the same 39. I think it is important for people to feel they have a place where they belong and people they can relate to. 40. Having a group which is more suited to a person’s liking. 41. It is very important for children to be involved within some sort of subcultures from a young age because it teaches them about inclusion, fun, happiness. For everyone it gives them something to enjoy outside of the mundane 9-5 jobs. 42. It allows individuals to express their different styles and beliefs and to meet others that think similarly 43. I don’t know 44. Some people like to think they belong to them it validates their existence 45. Sense of belonging 46. Some people feel it defines them 47. Giving people a sense of belonging/community and allowing people to express themselves through their association with a subculture. 48. To enjoy life 49. Subcultures allow people to express themselves even more than they are able to with a culture. This can however; lead to extremism which may be seen as a negative to subcultures. 50. Not having too many people in the group or knowing too much about it... 51. They make life interesting. 52. They help to bring differentiation to society; they promote a healthy imbalance of tastes and identities which make our society what it isdiverse. After all, if we were all the same, life would be pretty bland.

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53. To group together people with similar interests, hobbies and personalities. 54. To give young people a chance to speak out 55. For people to stay as young as possible for as long as possible 56. To make life interesting 57. for fun 58. To escape the real world and life 59. To enjoy yourself 60. Belonging for young people outside of their family life?

Appendix 2- Interview with Daniel Dobson UK Skate Southbank Premium Member NAME: Daniel Dobson AGE: 21 HOBBY: Skateboarding JOB: Photographer Q1. Tell me a little bit about skateboarding? Skateboarding isn’t just a hobby, or even just a sport it’s kind of more like a cultural involvement, you could say a subculture but its more to do with youths, youth culture and an involvement in something everyone can join in with- if you know how to ride that is.. Everyone can be involved but its whether they want to be, most people see it as youth rebellion but at the end of the day it’s a global sport

Q2. How often do you ride? I’d say about six out of the seven days a week, if I could I would ride all the time but obviously you have to come back to reality and it isn’t as easy as just doing the thing you love to do all of the time, I enjoy riding obviously, but it can’t be a job for me and it doesn’t make me a living

Q3. Is it a lifestyle for you?

Q6. Do you feel skate culture has reached a tipping point and has become mainstream? To be honest it probably has but that isn’t a bad thing because it gets awareness out there for the youth culture and will probably result in us either getting more funding or more national skate parks. Skateboarding has that association, or youthfulness and rebellion and has a real connotation of being bad, as a skater, I have positive views of its synonymous mainstream appeal; it keeps the culture alive and growing but it annoys me greatly how big brands are reeking the profits off what was treasure for us penniless kids.

Yes and No, currently I wouldn’t say it is a lifestyle due to the fact that I can’t make a living out of it, you could say because I encompass the skateboarding into the photographs that I take that I am including it within a lifestyle, but then again it isn’t a lifestyle for me currently. I do live my life through skateboarding though like all my friends and the way I dress etc, so its debateable.

Q7. What makes you remember a certain brand?

Q4. Where do you go to escape your everyday life?

Q8. Would you say anyone could be part of Skateboarding?

Obviously the skate park, that’s where I release my anger of everyday life and everyday mundane tasks and jobs. Sometimes I’ll go shopping and spend money because that a bit of an escape too.

Q5. Which brands do you normally buy? Hard question to answer because I buy quite a few brands, usually skate brands but more individual brands that no-one really knows. Brands need to have ideas that are credible and real, it has to relate to the youth in the sense of music, fashion, art for me to buy into them, especially art.

Mainly the people in the shop, if they’re nice to me then I will return and end up purchasing more but if they aren’t bothered about me and just aren’t really into getting to know about me then why would I go back? I think in general it’s all about the brands personality and how they treat you when you buy from them, kind of like personal engagement?

Yes and No, I would say you have to be a type of person, kind of like you have something to rebel against, most professional skateboarders are good because they had something to rebel against from their everyday life, so they hoped on the board and skated away all of their anger and annoyance. Mainly Skateboarding is associated with that of an anti-mainstream ideal, we are people who don’t want to be involved within society too much, we are the anti-mass and consumers who aren’t really into what normal brands have to offer, give us something different and we will be interested.

Appendix 3– Interview with George P. Post Q1. Name George P. Post, aka “Jorgé de la Playa” (burner name)

Q2. Where do you live? Richmond, California, just across the Bay from San Francisco and just a few miles north of The Peoples’ Republic of Berkeley.

Q3. How did you discover burning man? I first learned of it when the 1991 Man was displayed for a week on a floating barge tied between the piers at Fort Mason, near the San Francisco Marina and Presidio.

Q4. When was the first time that you went? I first attended Burning Man in 1991, the second year it was held on the Black Rock Desert.

Q5. And what was your first experience like? I was so impressed by the event’s photogenic possibilities and the amazing spirit of shared community experience that I’ve returned each and every year since--22 times altogether now.

Q6. How did your book come about? As I built up a growing file of Burning Man photos, I began to think that it might eventually develop into a book. Then, in early 2011 I experienced a quiet period in my freelance photography business, so I used that free time to organize all of my Burning Man photos, year by year, and begin the process if selecting, scanning, and laying out images using Adobe InDesign. It took 11 months to complete the layout, and during that time I had several copies of partial “artist’s proof” books printed out at an on-demand press in Los Angeles, just to be sure the project would come out properly on ink-and-paper. When the layout was complete and proofread, I went shopping for a publisher; I quickly discovered that book publishers today are not willing to take risks on books that are out of the mainstream. So I decided to self-publish, but then I quickly learned that domestic presses were so costly that the book would be prohibitively expensive. Fortunately, one of the local on-demand presses I consulted referred me to a print broker with connections to printers in Hong Kong and I was able to get 2000 copies printed for a very reasonable unit price. The order was sent to China in midsummer of 2012, and the books arrived at the beginning of November.

Q7. Could be a tough one to answer but- what has been the weirdest photograph that you have taken among your 21 years at burning man? Weird is a rather relative concept at Burning Man, but I’d have to say that a 2005 photograph I made of a kinky couple strolling the Esplanade dressed (actually semi-undressed) in red “devilish” attire ranks fairly high on the weirdness scale.

Q8. What emotions and feelings are evoked each year that you attend the event? For me, Burning Man has always felt spiritual, and for many of us Burners it fills a deeply spiritual void which is not well met by the dominant religious paradigms in America. It’s a season-based event, originally conceived as a Summer Solstice celebration when it started in San Francisco in 1986. When it outgrew San Francisco and moved to the Black Rock Desert in 1990, it had to become an end-of-summer event because the Playa is usually still wet in June, which is also the hottest part of the year. So I see Burning Man as akin to ancient seasonal rituals and myths; as I say in the Preface to my book, I “don’t believe it’s too big a stretch to compare The Burning Man to ancient season-based death-and-resurrection my thologies: Osiris, Persephone, Orpheus, and even Jesus. Every year we burn the Man, and every year he is reborn anew...” Every August I can be very emotionally moved on a summer afternoon by the simple realization that the sunlight is steepening towards the south, and that Burn Time is coming up very soon. Also, when artist David Best built and burned the first Temple in 2000, I think he really added an expanded spiritual dimension to the event, by addressing mortality and remembrance of lost loved ones in a very real and cathartic way.

Q9. So 5 key words you would associate with your experiences at Burning Man? Belonging, Community, Play fulness, Creative, Religious

Q10. Some have said that burning man is one big culture? Do you agree? Maybe. There is somewhat of a homogeneity to “Burner Culture.” In actual practice, though, it is a melange of several different subcultures: performers, artists, builders, costume freaks, musicians/music-fans, aviators, desert rats, psychedelic explorers, personal-growth aficionados, and sexual adventurers of various genders and orientations, all coming together to make one huge culture exempt from the outside world.

Q11. If there were no social structural limitations or huge corporate chains in day-to-day life do you feel that the world would be like burning man? I think there have been various cultures throughout history that

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had the wonderful ethos of communal sharing we have at Burning Man, and some that also used fire-based ritual. And yes, I think that the rise of corporate commercialism has caused our modern world to be mostly very unlike Burning Man, which explains its broad appeal to those who are dissatisfied with the dominant culture.

entice the correct consumers and the right market. If too many people chase after something then not many people want it. If there is a culture around a brand and when purchasing into that brand and that product you feel a sense of belonging, away from the ritual of our lives. Brands need to adopt cultures around their brands to make them more desirable.

Q12. Why do you feel experiences such as burning man are desirable?

Q14. Are you scared that burning man is going to reach a tipping point whereby it becomes too main-stream and in essence loses its original meaning around the burn?

Above all, it is a chance to see the potential for other ways of living besides 9-to-5 jobs, commuting, rampant consumerism, and “safe” experience. We all crave excitement and ritual in our lives, and Burning Man provides both in a harsh, kaleidoscopic environment.

Q13. With the age of mass being prominent now do you feel brands should adopt a less mainstream approach to their marketing?

I doubt that it will ever become too main-stream, simply because a rather small percentage of people are really adventurous enough to actually attend. As far as losing the original meaning, well, the original meaning is really quite simple: let’s build a Man out of wood and burn him. That basic inspiration will always remain the keystone and centrepiece of the event.

Consumers do want to expand out of their “safe” was of living and therefore I feel brands need to adopt certain cultish ways to

Appendix 4- Wristband Respondents HANDED OUT AT: Berlin- Salon Zur Wilden Renate, Berghain, Watergate Manchester- Warehouse Project, Sankeys London- Cable, Egg London, Fuse Nottingham- Stealth, Rescue rooms, 808 21.12.12- Female, 19, Berlin- just went out to have a really good night, in a way I was happy because I was with my friends and the people I love. And we all got past the door, which is always an achievement! 22.12.12- Male, 23, Berlin – Belonging, Happiness, Excitement 21.12.12- Female, 26, Berlin – Achievement because I was in salon zur-wilden-renate and they never let me in due to my pink hair... but yes I felt a real sense of achievement and excitement! And wanted! 8.12.12- Female 18, London – Nervousness, Excitement 20.12.12- Female 21, Berlin – Cool, Wanted, Engaged, 19.12.12- Male 19, Nottingham- Cool buzz 8.12.12- Female 20, London – Happy, Giddy, Wanted 19.12.12- Male 22, Berlin – I felt like I was needed there they said yes to me at the door instead of turning me away because I don’t have the right look 1.1.13- Female 23, Nottingham- fucked 2.1.13- Female 21, Nottingham- connected and happy and cool 10.12.12- Male 26, London- drunk, atmosphere 27.11.12- Male 20, Nottingham- cool and gone 27.11.12- Male 19, Nottingham- weird, weird music, weird people, weird vibes 21.12.12- Male 25, Berlin- it’s such a small community that I felt like I belonged 27.12.12- Female 18, Manchester- from what I remember I had an amazing time 18.12.12- Male 30, Berlin- always an achievement getting in the club because I am English 31.12.12- Female 21, Manchester- Happy excited buzzing giddy 17.12.12- Female 20, Nottingham- friends, uncontrollable, freedom, chaos 21.12.12- Female 30 Berlin- Company, suspense 28.12.12- Male 23 Manchester- euphoric, spontaneity 19.12.12- Male 22 Berlin- (English) relief 31.12.12- Female 25 Nottingham- Mega 20.12.12- Male 22 Nottingham- Uninhibited

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Appendix 5- Interview with Paul Dailey Job: Hotel Manager Q1. Tell me a little bit about yourself?

really through being rebellious and doing anything we could to fuck the system

Paul Daley, currently retired and taking life as it comes.

Q5. Would you say anyone could be part of it at the time?

Q2. The era you would go back to?

I would be bias and say no because I knew that I was a true influence on Punk at the time but it depends what direction you look at it from, from the outset people probably didn’t want to get involved because we did look threatening or nasty but then on the inside like any group we were just kids after fun, so yes anyone could be part of it but not everyone wanted to be part of it

1970s obviously, I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t want to, it was the era of Mass Creativity and Explosion, it was by far the best time to be a teenager.

Q3. What was it like to be a punk rocker? Amazing, I honestly don’t know how else to describe it, you did what the hell you wanted, designed what you wanted to wear, got in trouble, ran the cities, what teenager wouldn’t want all of that freedom? It was insane, we were all such a close group of friends too so it was a great time.

Q4. Was it a lifestyle for you? Completely, I don’t know any other person who has said that it wasn’t, if it wasn’t your lifestyle well then you weren’t really a true PUNK or not influential to the crowd. Because it was a lifestyle you had to pierce your body a certain way, die and cut your hair a certain way, the scene just ran its own course

Q6. How did you get involved with the subculture? Well really, because I lived in central London and I was in school at the times it was just what everyone was doing, my best mate ryan introduced me to a few people that he had started hanging out with and well I just started hanging out with them too and well the rest from there is history.

Q7. What was the Punk era about? Drugs, Piercings, Rebellion, Music, Friends, Fun,

Appendix 6- Interview with Ged Gibbons- Northern Soul DJ Q1. How did you first get involved/ hear about the Northern Soul scene? Well it was abit strange to be honest, firstly no one knew about what the scene was and you still can’t really comprehend what it encompassed unless you actually were there and experienced it at the time, my friend got me involved at the tender age of 15, because we lived in Manchester the Wigan Casino was the place to be and be seen, so it all started from there really and I haven’t looked back, Wigan was the only place opened past 2 and was the place to be Q2. What did the scene encompass? Young people basically have fun and escaping from the normal and the everyday things that were happening at the time, the main thing was the music and dancing and obviously clothing came hand in hand with that, the flared trousers and the levi denim jackets.. the key thing though was trading records, getting dibs on the ones worth the money and trading your own record collection that was what the scene revolved around. Q3. Does it still exist today? Of course, I wouldn’t still be doing what I do if it wasn’t for it still existing, it quite funny though because recently with two Northern Soul films being made (one of which I am in) Soul Boy, the young actors and dancers that were taught by us about the scene now come to the nights that we run and its great for younger generations to be adopting and encompassing the music and moves. Obviously it doesn’t exist today like it used to but it does in its own way. Q4. Why do you feel the scene lasted for so long? Because only us kids in Manchester and Wigan knew about it, it was like a club, everyone was exempt unless you knew how to dance, had the right clothes or sold records but everyone could be involved for sure!

Q5. How does it make you feel? Today? Happy, it makes me remember the good times and the relationships that you have with the songs that get played, but back then, it make me feel popular, I knew what I was talking about when people wanted records, I had fun and it was just another experience all together you cannot comprehend what it was like unless you were there in that era! And you attended Wigan Casino! Q6. Was there a particular sort of person involved in the scene or was it open to everyone? Anyone with a love of music who wanted to have fun and enjoy themselves and be expressive, and obviously youth, you had to be young. I would say though it was the more adventurous of young people though I mean what normal un-adventurous person would get a minibus all the way to wigan only to be stranded at 5am with no money, and obviously no phone, to then wander all the way back to Manchester to end up joy riding a lift home! So because these people were young and they were adventurous it kind of made it seem as though we were the cool ones, the ones who did what they wanted to do. I suppose you could say we were quite well off kids too, spending every last penny much to our mothers disappointment on records and music.

Appendix 7- Interview with Nottingham Levi’s Shop Manager- Nick baker Q1. Do you feel subcultures exist today? Erm.. Yes.. but not in the same way that they used to, I think that Subcultures have almost become the mainstream, the subculture is only sort of a subculture if there is a mainstream for it to be separate from, but I don’t feel that that is the case anymore, there are so many different ways of marketing and advertising and so many different markets, compared to say 50 years ago where say you had the high street to choose from or nothing, todays it’s like are you a little independent market stall or are you an enormous John Lewis, are you a tiny little online retailer, are you selling your stuff on eBay are you an eBay shop? There are so many different stuff and things going on that I don’t really feel that there is one specific mainstream. The subculture is now the essence of the mainstream its almost sort of caved out, traditionally fashion follows music, and in previous decades you would have had very specific, very large kind of movements, Motown, Punk, Disco, Grunge, Hip-Hop, Dance and Trance or whatever and those would always have their specific fashions, that would be borrowed and emerged within other subcultures, whereas today there is no prevalent defining music scene, you know it’s quite acceptable to listen to a bit of drum and bass a bit of oasis, something from the 70’s, and people of today don’t sort of go right ‘I am a punk’ or ‘I am a trance enthusiast’ so concluding yes they do exist but there isn’t a mainstream so it kind of doesn’t make them subcultures anymore, they are more belonging members of tribes.

Q2. What is the best Levis campaign that has ever been produced? Advertising campaign or product concept? This is a tricky one because they are all like erm, won awards throughout history, so I guess it just goes off personal opinion, there are really old ones that still work and there are modern ones, I particularly like the gangs of New York style, there was a run of them, when they are on the street corner, obviously Latin American but they are speaking Shakespeare, which I thought was quite brave from Levi’s as a concept because the Latino culture in America would probably not be viewed as educated, so that’s kind of odd, I think it kind of juts to position in being a street corner, and you’ve got these layabout, so it’s kind of educated slackers which has you know been going on for a long time, but yes I quite like that one. The engineered ones I think, well Levis engineered were probably one of the best, most successful ones ever created, they were about freedom to move commercial, a very exciting campaign and it spread like wildfire through word of mouth and reposts online.

Q3. Do you feel having advertising campaigns around the themes of rebellion appeal to youth? Erm, I’d say yes, although it has always been something borrowed, and erm its usually very un-rebellious people that it appeals to, it’s like the 1950s, James Dean, A rebel without a cause, white t-shirt, leather jacket, and Levi’s, James Dean was like a very well educated New York actor so it’s

like he wasn’t a rebel, it’s basically the people that wrote the script, they were themselves very well educated New York conformists they worked for Hollywood, it’s like it’s not that rebellious, but they just play on it, erm the Rock and Roll sort of aspect of you know like the rebellious sort of youth culture that occurred within the 50s and the 60s and you know like loud rock and roll music, it wasn’t the rebellious people that would wear the Denim it would be the, well if you think about Johnny Cash, Elvis, they were from very very poor backgrounds, they had something to stand against, something to be rebellious about, did they wear denim? No because it’s a working class material, the people that would maybe copy their styles who were from say New York or like bigger cities who were fairly educated could afford to go out and spend money on tour, at their own expense and build up their name and be rebellious almost trying to underplay their affluence by wearing denim, whereas Johnny Cash wore a black suit, Elvis went crazy with white sequins, and tassels, so for them it just reminded them of their poor backgrounds and for them rebellious wasn’t about wearing denim. The mods, and even the proper mods would not have worn denim because they were poor it is a working class product that tends to be kind of.. well think about the Jack Wills kind of thing at the moment, is it chav clothes for posh people? Or is it posh clothes for chavs? It’s like which way does it go? Does society go up or down? Take the libertines, skinny jeans, girls jeans, Pete Docherty, didn’t come from a particularly poor background, he could afford a pair of shoes, it is like he was dressing it down, he wanted to appeal more common than he actually was, erm so in that respect, it’s kind of very democratic, and it’s a good level, people from actual poor backgrounds, don’t tend to go near it, think of all the wrappers than are all bling it up and it’s all about the label, but it’s not subtle or understated, whereas if you come from the other way, so I suppose it all depends on the market and the consumers you are trying to impress.

Q5. The Levis go forth campaign contained images of rioting, shot in Berlin during the May Day demonstrations and was launched just after the UK riots, it has been criticized by Journalists saying it was ‘risky to embrace youthful rebellion in advertising right now, given that the real-world examples involved so much looting and burning’. What do you feel about this statement? Yeah sure that is a great post game analysis, but you don’t work advertising campaigns in reverse, you make what you think represents a brand, and if it reflects the real realities of the world then, that’s what it is, I mean I don’t see how you can have rebellious advertising campaigns without a little bit of rebellion in what you do, the campaign sort of has to shock otherwise there would be no point to it.. then again that comes back to the whole did they really mean rebellious or is it just the idea of rebellion without it actually being rebellious.

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Q6. Obviously it gets you at Levis more attention if something is criticized to this level? Honestly it wasn’t the intention, noo, the riots in London happened way after we had already made the video already, we did pull it out though out of respect, but to be honest with you pulling the advert created more controversy and scandal, if we would have ignored it, it would have just been a couple of lines on someone’s blog, but the fact that we responded to it amplified it to the media, so it was a difficult one, I think we should have just left it up there, but pulling the advert probably created more of a fuss to the media.

Q7. Do you feel that other brands should follow your example and incorporate more subcultures etc into brands? They do, we almost sort of invented, denim marketing, erm have you noticed that we don’t do TV advertisements any more, that’s basically because, you only advertise to gain market share, and we figured that it wasn’t really sort of advancing our brand, it’s made it possible for lots of other people to start their brands up, and sell jeans, and our advertising campaign has just made it more accessible, for people to be wearing denim, I can remember sort of 10 or 15 years ago, when I first started going out clubbing and all that youth activity, you wouldn’t have got into a club if you were wearing jeans and a t-shirt and trainers, you would have had to have a pair of trousers and shoes on, so all of this advertising just made it more acceptable for people to wear jeans out, expensive and designer, as a real sort of fashion thing, it completely pulls it away from that work wear ethic, and makes it a fashion piece, that constant marketing a building it up, and getting ourselves in that position, once we had done that we would have only been helping people that sell 300 400 pounds because we would just be reinforcing that thing. We do make stuff that expensive but it’s not for the high-street normally, it’s for like tiny little boutique stores, in London and in Paris. We stock ourselves roughly 60/40, we stock in our own stores, 60% of which is wholesale, so more often than not we don’t sell our own products, we keep a high street presence so that we can control our brand, but most of it, is wholesale.

Q8. Do you feel that if brands produced more of a culture around them through exclusivity? So kind of a way of incentivizing shoppers? We do sometimes call up customers and tell them we have exclusive offers for them, occasionally, erm the problem with discounting, is that it is abit of a vicious circle, I mean apple have the sort of reputation that they do, if they had sales, January crazy sales, say like they slashed everything to 50% no one would ever buy from them at a normal price, erm there are plenty of cases of brands who sort of want to increase and then, or will have a huge sale and will make loads of money and profit, and then they have to put more sale to get a certain amount of income into the business, and it’s sort of like, a snowball, so yes we do have sale but they are short they are sharp, its 2 weeks 30% 2 weeks 50% and then it’s done, and that’s it, we have outlets for filtering out by product. But to incentivise customers it’s more of a personal service, it not, well we are an enormous

multi-national corporation, but the stores should feel personal and that’s the incentive that you are not buying off faceless amazon, you are buying off nick from the Levi store, personalisation is key.

Q9. What do you feel is the best way to target the every growing youth cultures today? It’s just kind of engagement, you kind of stand next to it, it has to be so clever, you can’t get away with the sort of like 80s or say 70s marketing executive, with his braces and pinstriped suit you know coming up with the genius marketing strategy, we are more than likely going to get slammed for trying too hard, and that’s not what our brand is about, we are a very casual, relaxed, laid back, it’s like, quietly confident, kind of brand and that’s kind of how our marketing has to appear as well, it can’t really sort of try too hard, we sponsor a lot of stuff, and we end up with sort of brand associations, we will put a band night on, you know like sponsor a couple of brands and then it’s kind of like Levi’s is just next to the thing, or artists in London, and there was a big campaign sort of for graffiti artists, and things like that just kind of like instillation artists, that would just put say an enormous butterfly on the side of like a wall, nothing that says Levis on it, it’s just like what is that and it causes controversy across media platforms, and people go and they blog about it, and they ask people who then talk about it, and then someone knows that its Levi’s and then they go oh really that was them? And it’s like that quite cool, I like that, so yeah it’s kind of got to be really understated

Q10. So it’s kind of like a different type of co-creation? A different escapism from the market, into a different niche? Yeah again it’s like Apple are brilliant at it, the first iPod advert just didn’t have any information, it didn’t tell you that it was an MP3 player it was just lots of jumping around, with a set of headphones on so it’s like the entire thing just made Microsoft products look so dull and it just made everyone else look so like stodgy and tired and old, it’s just really middle ages, where at apple its literally bright colours, lots of energy, and that’s what the marketing campaign so you kind of market the emotion, not the product.

Q11. My recommendation is to produce a handbook for brands and how to target the youth market, would this be a concept that you would be interested in? Yes definitly I would love to see the prodcut that you produce from all of this research the thing that we use redbull a lot, again because it means that we are kind of just stood next to the product, the cool thing, but we aren’t trying to be cool ourselves, we are sort of like the quiet but it works, you see Diesel kind of do the opposite they kind of shout about it, but that’s always kind of been their thing, their first store opened directly opposite the New York flagship store so it was like, I think it was like, in the 80s and erm, at the time everyone was just like oh my Christ they just opened their very first store opposite no one knows anything about the brand and they have just gone and walked straight up to the biggest company

within the business and just like looked it straight in the face and just said, you know our jeans are pretty cool too, and it was just like that sheer bold confidence, that sort of they go for, really sort of shouty and showy very sort of about being unashamed, erm don’t be smart be stupid, advertising campaign, I mean when there is so much made about geek cool, to go completely the opposite and just go psh geek cool it kind of makes the clever marketing look absolutely ridiculous and there’s look much cleverer and just for pointing it out they aren’t authentic at all they copy like a lot of other brands, erm there is nothing particularly unique about their

product but their attitude is very unique which is what makes their brand work, Firetrap tried to copy it and have failed miserably the issue with firetrap is that they have just decided to copy, you are either the first the second does completely the opposite and the third has to do what the other two do but a lot better, erm we lead, a lot of marketing is like ownership of buzz words so we are original so we are like original Levi stores so we are the first we are number one we invented them and then other brands will try and use they’ll own different words and erm try and differentiate themselves.

APPENDIX 8- Interview with Nathaniel Coltrane Wilson -Owner of MIMM Q1. Sinead: Could you give me a brief outline of your time within the industry and what you do outside of Mimm? Nathaniel: Well the shop in itself was originally set up because of my love of music, the gap in the market for the shop was that because people enjoy underground music and unique music and they like want to be a part of a certain culture, they kind of buy into dressing in a certain kind of way, to keep their individuality, so sourcing unique kind of clothing went hand in hand with putting on underground nights if you know what I mean. So there was a gap within the market, erm and that’s really why I started the shop and then kind of like other things branched out into the arts and the creative side as well and yeah that’s kind of like the main reason how Mimm came about, so if you get that they both just came hand in hand with producing and that’s how it works.

Q2. Sinead: Do you feel like Youth Culture has had a strong impact on your brand? Nathaniel: Yeah definitely 100%, without a doubt, this brand would not exist if youth culture did not exist, my demographic you know is kind of between 16 to late 20’s and in the future I will like always keep this shop but as I get older I will probably open another shop within the market, open one up into the young professional market and get established in that, here I am established and I am making money but with this market a lot of people who are younger they do kind of like individual clothing, if a student comes to NTU or to Nottingham University there are obviously people who want to make a statement you know they want to be seen, they want to be known, they want to be seen out, different from the crowd and they want to stand out, and that’s what this shop tries to cater for; unique and kind of individual clothing so yeah youth culture and more importantly standing out from the crowd is youth culture you know.

Q3. Sinead: Have you noticed an increase within youth culture or subcultures over the past year? Nathaniel: It hard because obviously I am a youth myself, so like I’ve only experienced it, until I get to a little bit later that’s probably when I will start noticing the shifts and changes and kind of would have seen the cycle of what’s happening in Nottingham, erm I definitely think that there is more people in tune to the underground music scene more so now, more

people are going to nights, more people are starting nights and over the past couple of years there has been some really good student nights come along, especially in Nottingham, I think about four years ago when I started to go out to these underground nights, it was pretty much 2 nights that came before that which was Detonate and Basslaced, which are huge now..

Sinead: And they are huge now aren’t they? Nathaniel: Well yeah Basslaced kind of made that change and have trekked down to London now, and they have made that their main emphasis, but now here in Nottingham you’ve got your Faded you’ve got the 808’s you’ve got the House Arrests, you’ve got Lost boys Club, well I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone but with Faded, they are all kind of bringing amazing things to the scene which adds ontop of what local people are doing already which is really good so I think that say in 5 years time, hopefully this will have grown ever more and maybe even doubled and then the youth culture will be even better.

Q4. Sinead: As an independent brand do you currently do any marketing? Nathaniel: We do, one of the best marketing that I have done is word of mouth because it’s free! And erm yeah obviously you’ve got the normal flyers and all that kind of stuff which promotes your shop but then obviously with doing like a club night and stuff that kind of puts you in the public eye, in a different way but then hopefully that filters back to the shop so people will see the Mimm logo about and then will want to go to the nights but then because they are seeing it on say a baseball or a card or a flyer, they think ahh I will pop into the shop and see what they’ve got and then that was the whole point of kind of having different platforms of like marketing as well as like the record label that we run which is another thing, it basically all just funnels back into the online store and we erm do art exhibitions and do the creative event down at the contemporary which is a way of supporting the locals and being kind of seen to be supporting the young up and coming people which I think is very important especially in Nottingham because there is so much talent. So yeah in terms of marketing, I don’t spend a great deal on it, I like to kind of

Sinead: Let it run its own course? Through Chinese Whispers?

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Nathaniel: Yeah and try and like try and have a nice influence on people, so that they have good things to say about Mimm and then hopefully that carries on through to the next person you know?

Q5. Sinead: Do you feel that there is a culture around Mimm? Nathaniel: I think that I don’t know, I don’t know that’s abit of a statement to say for me, just yet but like when you look at brand..

Sinead: But do you feel like you have a certain set of repeat consumers? Nathaniel: Yeah, yeah definitely, like I said the demographic would be like a young person who wants to make a statement a person who kind of wants to look individual and stuff, and yeah if you look at brands like.. I don’t know trying to think of someone, brands like say Supreme they have an iconic status you know what I’m saying? And they have moulded a culture around them.. but for me Mimm is obviously only two years old and it’s still in its very early stages, erm hopefully I will be able to get to the stage where I will be able to branch out into other cities and make that influence bigger.

Q6. Sinead: Do you think that brand with an ‘undergound’ cultures are successful? Like niche, Isecretive? Nathaniel: I think that the secret card definitely works erm if you look at what Faded did it was amazing, the marketing strategy that they had; they had people sign up to a mailing list and it was kind of you’re in the know, you didn’t know the address or anything about the event, you bought your tickets and then that was it, they had a little house party and then they had the thing at minus one and they had the one at the Marcus Garvey for the last one, I think in general that built their brand really well because it was kind of like we are in a members club. And we are going to this thing and erm it’s for young people and it’s a student thing; Secretive is good, what we’ve done here at Mimm as well is like we’ve always kind of put on little secret parties, erm we’ve got coming up we’ve got a warehouse space which is like a loft conversion and it’s a small capacity of 100 people I think that that secret thing that people feel that they can be part of something is very important, within promotion definitely because then you feel as though, your audience feel like they’re getting something that no one else is getting

Sinead: Yeah it kind of feels as though the consumers are part of a culture, and associated to that of being within a subculture? Nathaniel: Yeah it kind of retains your audience then and in that way

Q7. Sinead: Do you have exclusive products or keep products behind the counter for specific people? Main consumers? Nathaniel: I do there are certain customers, who if they do shop in the shop a lot I will basically send them the line sheets, and from them they can pick what they want and then

because there are stuff that certain sizes that I don’t get in and some things I don’t really sell that much, so you got like XL or XXL or even smalls they don’t sell very much so if I’ve got customers who do buy a lot off me I will send them the line sheets and they can choose, but then yeah if there is like real loyal customers I will make sure that they get first dibs as such and sometimes get exclusive garments but one of my main emphasis with garments are that whenever I bring something I get pieces of it and then once it’s gone its gone so that people know that everything bought from here, even if they aren’t getting something from under the counter, they are still going to get something which is quite exclusive.

Q8. Sinead: Do you feel that it is important or essential for brands to engage with consumers on different platforms to escape the mundane 9-5? Nathaniel: Yes erm definitely like the whole, I think that like the reason why there has been such a boom in club nights and stuff is because of the recession and people trying to escape from the 9-5 thing I think that is essential with every thing really I mean if you look at the 90’s, I mean the late 1980’s there was the massive recession obviously through the thatcher period, this caused all of the illegal house parties and illegal warehouse raves

Sinead: They are just rebelling against society and what they are being today to do.. Nathaniel: Yeah rebelling yeah, it’s kind of like escapism and this is vital in this current climate definitely and it makes, like you are able to get these things out there more so because of the internet and the internet is obviously the best invention of the last 20 years..

Sinead: Do you feel that the internet has a bad impact on brands that are trying to stay niche? And make them reach tipping points that they necessarily don’t want to reach? Its kind of a debate between positive and negative Nathaniel: Yeah you know like some people.. it is yeah it’s like obviously you want to stay credible and once you’ve got like, well there are certain nights in Nottingham who would say that they are putting on a really good night but now like they are too busy, and that is because the tipping point has been tipped, I mean the people who go there for the music or the people who want to see them artists they’re getting pissed off because they can’t because everyone is going to rush to one artist that they don’t even have a clue who they are, and everyone is surrounded by people who don’t really know why they are there, and then that kind of opposes the culture and once a tipping point has happened people are in a scene to be seen you know what I mean it isn’t their instinct they are in the scene because they enjoy the scene which is a problem, I don’t understand how you can keep on the cust of a tipping point but never actually tip it..

Sinead: It’s kind of like the people within the scene will change and once it goes through the ‘cool people’ it goes to the ‘mainstream people’ and then from them it goes to the mass market..

Nathaniel: that’s the key thing I suppose because if you look at brands like supreme and OBEY, they’ve been doing stuff for years its only over the past three years when a tipping point has happened, obviously they product place their stuff, you know the whole Odd Future thing with Tyler Krater wearing Supreme got out massively to that culture erm and now everyone, but not everyone, but people who are keen street followers they are like forget Supreme its gone, and it’s not coming back

Sinead: What brands at the moment do you feel are about to cross the threshold? Nathaniel: In terms of clothing brands?

Sinead: Anything Nathaniel: Ermmm it’s a hard one because I don’t want to be negative to anyone else, a brand that is doing really well but has stayed consistent and not had to go over like a tipping point is Boiler Room; because Boiler Room have branched out to loads of different cities so it’s not like they are trying to stay in London and build that and make it massive they’ve got their niche markets and then they have just moved their ethos to another place and grew their niche markets so they’ve got loads of pockets and they’ve never had to reach that full tipping point erm so I don’t know it’s hard to think which brand

Sinead: because you don’t really know until its happened? And then its kind of just gone Nathaniel: Exactly, erm there are a lot of clothing brands which are really getting kind of exposed, people might say that Lazy Oaf is kind of done with, because I started stocking Lazy Oaf when I first opened, some people frown at it a little bit, when you see people on like I don’t know, people on like X Factor wearing it

Sinead: that’s kind of like the mainstream then right? Nathaniel: So I think that that is a brand that has recently reached a tipping point, when you’ve got people like one direction wearing it, it’s gone.

Sinead: My recommendation is to produce a brand bible for brands, selling to young people, to adopt practises that to stop brands from losing their young consumers. Nathaniel: That’s cool man definitely get back in touch when you’ve done it all and written your recommendation I’d love to hear how brands like mine can improve and retain consumers etc.

Thankyou for your time.

Appendix 9- Focus Group Participant A- Matthew King Participant B- Kevin Aguesseau Participant C- James Ellis Participant D- Myles Harvey Participant E- Oliver Solan Sinead: Hi and welcome to this focus group, after you have signed the forms I will process with the questions, the first lot are a few quick fire, first thing that comes to your head questions, and then its onto your thoughts and feelings about a few brands and then finally onto some statements with the opportunity to agree or disagree. Sinead: Q1- One word that describes you? Participant A: Diverse Participant B: Sexy Participant C: You can’t say sexy Participant D: Yeah that’s not really serious Participant A: Especially in your office clothes Participant C: So what’s your word, sexy? Participant B: No its open. Participant E: Open, open? Nice. Participant C: Mine is.. Participant A: Sneaky Participant C: Sneaky? Haha, Cruel? Allergic? Mine is erm..

Mysterious Participant E: I’m going with cool

Sinead: Q2- I wish my job was.. Participant A: Festival organizer Participant C: Yeah that’s a sick one Participant B: Cat whisperer Participant C: Ermm.. yeah probably just an events manager/ planner Participant D: Same Participant E: An Artist.. like a full time one

Sinead: Q3- The era I wished I had lived.. Participant A: 1980s! Participant B: 1960s hippy’s Participant C: 1970s in California Participant D: 1990s Participant E: All of them. But probably late 80s in Berlin

Sinead: Q4- What is the meaning of life? Participant A: Fuck as many people as possible, live it up, have a laugh with your mates, just have an all-round good time, you

AUTHENTICITY OF THE UNKNOWN

know what I mean? Participant D: To be content Participant C: Content that’s all you want? Participant D: Yeah I just want to be content with everything, just like yeah sick I’m content Participant C: Contents is a-bit like open ended Participant D: No its not, content is like ahh this is sick Participant C: Yeah but contents neither here nor there, surely you would want to be fulfilled? Participant D: I want to choose content, just because I want to be content, well fulfilled whatever Participant C: Yeah whatever Participant D: Sorry English teacher Participant B: To be happy Participant E: Yeah to be happy, it’s all the same kind of thing really isn’t it? Participant A: Yeah Participant E: So can we all have the same answer? Because all three of those work, the meaning of life is be happy

Sinead: Q5- Favourite piece of clothing you own? Participant A: Supreme green shirt, or my grey all wool one Participant C: I need to get new jeans Participant A: Edwin jeans, they’re sick Participant B: My boxers, my Calvin Klein boxers Participant C: Probably my Ginoskis to be fair Participant B: Nah your jeans Participant C: Or my Millioneyes t-shirt! Participant E: Trainers, Adidas and Jeremy Scott Participant D: Ray Ban glasses

Sinead: Q6- Favourite leisure activity to do outside of work? Participant A: To get fucked up Participant B: Yeah basically Participant C: Go to sick festivals, have a really sick time Participant E: Yeah just get smashed Participant C: Well mine is probably like to go travelling around the world Participant D: Yeah mine is to go to like nights, sick nights out Participant C: Just have fun man Participant E: Yeah fun Participant D: Proper sick time

Sinead: Q7- Rebellion, Consumption, Identity, Escapism, Participation, Belonging, Individuality, Self-expression, Self-reliance, Personality, Exclusiveness. Which best describes you and why? Participant C: Mine is exclusiveness definitely Participant A: Self-Reliance Participant B: Hahahaha Participant A: It’s true though Participant B: Ermmm.. Participant C: You’ve got to say why Participant A: Self-Reliance because I like to do stuff for myself and just like get shit done Participant E: Consumption, I like to consume Participant A: Yeah I like getting my monies Participant B: Individuality Participant D: I’m going to go with escapism

Participant C: None of us are escapists Participant A: We can escape if we need to though.. Participant C: Yeah I suppose

Sinead: Q8- Which one is your neutral identity? Participant A: Rebellion Participant C: I will have.. Realistically probably like belonging? Participant E: Whattt? Participant C: I’d just say that I quite like to be involved? Participant D: None of them, I don’t need to categorize myself.

Sinead: Q9- Favourite brands and why? Participant C: Like in fashion? Like you know in fashion? Participant A: Oh so it can be anything? Like lifestyle too? Participant B: Favourite brands? ermm Participant C: See this is the thing, I don’t really know any brands, I mean I like Millionhands for all the original t-shirts they do and stuff and like it’s always really high quality t-shirts, but I kind of just got for any thing that has like a really good brand behind it something that you can really connect to, yeah I really like that. Like all Paul Smith t-shirts are really shit and its always on really rubbish material, actually you know what this is probably my favourite item of clothing my Millionhands t-shirt, I want to get all of them, like it’s actually like really nice material, and they don’t shrink aswell, that’s key! Can I change my answer? My favourite item is my Millionhands t-shirt. Participant A: Our Legacy! Participant C: Yeah that’s a sick label man! Participant E: Norse Project is pretty sick Sinead: So kind of you’re all going for individual niche brands? Participant D: Yeah like the different brands the ones that do it for themselves, just like everyone else, I got told about it and went out of my way to be part of it, its new its different Participant A: I like Japanese makes, they’re really cool and they know their stuff Participant C: Yeah I like all the cool stuff but unfortunately they cost quite a bit Participant E: Just the brands that no one else has that’s key!

Sinead: Q10- Have you had any personal experiences with these brands? Participant C: Yeah with Millionhands, I like met the guy and I saw him, well I saw a guy wearing a Millionhands t-shirt at Corsica studios so I went up to him and he was like yeah sick, it’s my company it was so cool. That’s what I like I like when you can meet the real people behind what they are doing and they are proud to wear their own brands and stuff, I really appreciate that. Shows they know what they are doing and the products are good. I met him at a night you see and obviously their whole ethos is music to people, and like giving good clothing to people who are really into their music and it just means that that brand is amerced in their lifestyle and could be amerced in your lifestyle and I appreciate that! I mean I wouldn’t say it’s cheap, it’s probably still like overpriced at £30 for a t-shirt but yeah the whole message and ethos is sick and that makes me want to purchase. Participant A: I like it when you get to see inside the brand, how their shit is made especially with like luxury items or stuff

that you are kind of paying a bit extra for, if they realised like short films, this might be a bad example but all saints did it with them girls sequin skirts? Because they cost a fortune but once you see that they’re stopping slave labour with it all and like employing people to hand stitch every bead on, with beads locally sourced from the women in India its crazy! And that’s why people will pay more, kind of want to see personality and just yeah how stuff is done. Participant B: Yeah I just want to know about quality really and how stuff is made that’s pretty cool, like woven techniques, even though I don’t have a clue about all of that stuff it gives another level to the brands and like a cool insight and I like that. Participant E: Yeah you pay a certain amount and you want to know why you are paying that amount, Participant D: So it’s kind of like heritage? Participant C: Yeah if like a label has heritage its quite nice for brands to have a bit of a story behind them Participant E: Yeah like narrative Participant C: You get that on quite a lot of the individual boutique brands Participant A: To be honest like with individual brands I never buy them from the store themselves I buy them from stores that stock their stuff so like how are they supposed to bring their personality to the table if it’s like another person doing and selling for them? It’s like not buying directly from them

Sinead: Q11- Have you ever felt deeply involved with any brand other than just purchasing from them?

Participant C: Like jeans, how often do you find badly fitting jeans? I want jeans that like fit really well but the ones you get offline you can just tell they’re going to get loose and probably rip in a couple of day Participant D: It’s my like body shape but once I kind of know that that style of t-shits from that brand fit in that size I will happily purchase offline it’s kind of all about convenience for me, I don’t have time to be faffing around in changing rooms and trying stuff on, I want a quick in and out, got everything bam. Participant C: yeah stuff has to fit perfectly otherwise I will never wear it, like I buy loads of stuff online and stuff just doesn’t really fit Participant A: Thing is I have been getting so excited all of today because I ordered some stuff from IKEA, and I waited in all day and still missed it, that’s the thing, waiting and not getting stuff is so frustrating.

Sinead: Q13- If you were to make a brand what would it be and why? Participant A: Cutting Edge, Exciting, Exhilarating brand and sometimes like overpowering brand, I’d sell clothes I think yeah clothes. Participant C: I’d sell clothes obviously Participant B: I think that’s a pretty each one Participant E: Yeah clothes Participant D: I’d make trainers but I think that’s a pretty easy one, I would design sick trainers

Sinead: Q14- What nights do you go to and why?

Participant A: No Participant B: No Participant C: Mmmm.. deeply involved? Participant D: Like on a personal level with them? Participant C: Oh really, nah Participant A: Kind of like getting involved with what they represent? Participant E: A few brands get stuff across in their brand message, but it doesn’t necessarily mean I am like more involved with them if you know what I mean? Participant D: Nahh really not involved at all, they are the brands we are the consumers but I will I could get more involved on a more personal level with them that would be cool because I would probably be more inclined to purchase from them if I was, yeah that would be good

Participant A: We go to surface Participant C: Like alternative music nights Participant E: I would hate to go anywhere like ocean or oceana that’s really not my scene Participant B: Yeah because we are DJs obviously surface Participant C: Techno House Participant B: House Music Participant E: Yeah Techno and House Participant C: All the house nights, it’s just sick Participant A: One’s that involve drugs Participant C: Hhahaha yeah Participant E: 90s House parties! Yeah I’d love to go to them all the time

Sinead: Q12- Where do you like to shop?

Participant A: I’m pretty involved with music as a DJ and we have like a following so I’m guessing you could say that that is a tribe Participant C: I sat on the king of the Zulu’s shoulders, does that count that’s like a real tribe Participant B: Used to be a chav Participant E: I used to be involved in playing rugby so you could say that as one yeah Participant C: I’m guessing at some point we all have been involved in a sort of tribe or something like that anyway Participant A: Electronic Music

Participant B: In a shop? Participant A: Online Participant C: Nah I hate shopping online, like the variety is better but after like postage and shit like that it’s so much more expensive! Participant B: Yeah I actually hate going shopping but like it’s always good to try stuff on Participant E: Yeah you have to be able to try stuff on; I am so dicky about how things fit and what they feel like on, it really irritates me, the idea of not being able to know what it fits like and the whole process of returns is sooo long

Sinead: Q15- Have you ever been involved in a scene or tribe?

AUTHENTICITY OF THE UNKNOWN

Sinead: Q16- Have you ever been invited to an exclusive night or to be part of an exclusive brand? Participant A: Just a little thing could surface obviously as residents we own that Participant C: Is there even any exclusive brands you can get an invite to? Participant B: Like private parties? Participant E: Kind of like being a founding member of something? Participant C: My sister’s boyfriend is a founding member of Mr Porter she gets 70% discount for being a founding member Participant A: Really of what? Participant C: Mr Porter

Sinead: Q17- Have you ever been turned away from a music night/ shop because you weren’t their target consumer? Participant E: Yeah! I got turned away from Fuse in London for wearing a Ralph Lauren shirt Participant A: Really?! Participant C: Noway that’s well bad Participant B: That ridiculous Participant E: Yeah in front of everyone as well they were just like Ralph Lauren doesn’t fly here at Fuse and I was like are you fucking joking? Participant C: As if Participant A: They can’t say that they are all about the music and people enjoying themselves if they turn away people for how they look that’s ridiculous Participant C: Yeah so it was the bouncers who didn’t actually let you in? Participant E: Yeah basically they said that, they will only allow you to get into Fuse if they like your vibe from what you’re wearing and how you are behaving in the queue, pathetic really. Participant A: That absolutely pathetic Participant B: Just crazy

Sinead: Q18- Clubs in Berlin are known for being exclusive do you feel that this makes them more desirable? Participant C: Nah that’s not true, it’s the one thing that lets them down Participant A: Yeah completely agree Participant E: Yeah Participant C: I think it’s pretentious as fuck! Participant D: Yeah completely agree Participant A: Yeah it’s shit Participant C: No one is impressed by Berghain’s door policy it’s pathetic Sinead: But do you think that is part of their culture or do you think it’s just them being fussy? Participant D: They just want to be idiots Participant C: To be fair, their filtering out is the right thing to do but they take it to the extreme where people really want to go because they just cant go and see like the music that they want to go and see, realistically they shouldn’t be allowed to judge a person by the way they look and then say that they only want the people who are there for the music that’s stupid like how do they know who likes the music from looking at you? It’s absolutely ridiculous

Participant A: Yeah I agree the two don’t go hand in hand Participant C: Yeah realistically its partially because they are international Participant A: Yeah but it’s just so they don’t get loads of tourists in there, and its turns in Malia Participant C: You can’t gage someone’s personality or music taste by just looking at them though if they did that in this country the club would be shut down for being prejudice Participant A: The people chilled back wearing whatever might be more aware and excited by the tunes whereas the try hard people who are wearing clothes trying to be cool and different don’t have a clue about the music Participant C: Imagine Eats everything in the queue for Berghain?! He would never get in he is lary as fuck, big English fat guy he just wouldn’t get in and he knows his shit in music but then if like you say what DJ’s are on and you know your stuff then you probably will get in who knows? Participant A: But then again there is people who wouldn’t actually go there for music they would go there to be seen, they can’t gage what your music taste is by the way you look or dress end of. Participant C: Yeah because with Eats everything, he’s fat, but he knows his music Participant E: What about Miguel Campbell? Participant C: Yeah see Miguel wouldn’t get in because he wears his Von Dutch hat he just wouldn’t get in anywhere until you actually find out who he was

Sinead: Q19- Are you interested in what goes on in the world and if so what? Participant A: No Participant E: Africa David Attenborough Participant A: Ahh yeah that’s pretty cool actually Participant D: Yeah Africa definitely Africa Participant C: Yeah I like learning about other places in the world Sinead: What about politics and things? Say from around the world Participant A: I just think its next how politics controls the whole country and stuff its crazy Participant B: Maybe like extremely different cultures? That’s all cool but like general news and stuff that’s all bullshit Participant C: Yeah because they always just give one side of an argument really Participant A: Other cultures and the environment is cool though

Sinead: Ok so following are some agree and disagree questions Q20- If a brand engages me with on personal level, I am more inclined to purchase from them? Participant A: Yeah definitely Participant C: Yeah, Participant D: Definitely Participant E: If they told me they had exclusive collaborations for me I would definitely purchase from them I think Participant D: If they did stuff like that and you knew that it was specifically to you and not by an auto mized email then definitely, rather than just a huge computer sending it to everyone

Participant C: Even so I think if they send you something that was related to something that you like or something that you have previously bought, if they recommended new brands or if they send you an email saying hey we saw that you bought this and we think you’d like this then that would be cool it’s harder with clothes because everyone has their own style but you get it with music a lot. Participant E: I like them sections of websites that say other people bought or recommendations Participant C: Yeah the people also bought section of websites is really cool I like that section its cool, it’s a great idea and generally if stuff that you actually like as well

Sinead: Q21- If a brand uses people of my age group or people who are my icons within their brand message or identity I am more inclined to purchase from them.. Participant C: Yeah probably Participant A: Even if it’s subconsciously then definitely Participant B: If there was a sick African tribe doing like cool stuff and they were my age then I would definitely try and be African Participant C: I think it’s strange because the whole thing with the Odd Future crew and all the young kids were taking the mic out of them and all the supreme stuff but you still relate to it even though you’re laughing at it Participant E: I like seeing street style and seeing what other people my age are wearing because I can then relate to it on a more personal level, it’s weird isn’t it how that happens? I think it’s because you can kind of see yourself in their shoes?

Sinead: Q22- If I know the story behind a brand I am more inclined to purchase from them.. Participant A: Yeah obviously but the only thing that it wouldn’t work with would be like cheap things, its only really when you want to know what you’re paying for and why the item costs so much and like the care and attention that’s gone into it and stuff Participant C: They do do that on some of like the sick websites don’t they say like wear it with this yeah and like show you what to wear Participant E: Definitely, I’ll only pay more if I know it’s worth paying more

Sinead: Q23- I am more inclined to buy from small local home grown brands, than big mainstream mass market brands.. Participant A: Nah Participant B: If they were my mate then I would probably buy from them Participant C: It completely depends doesn’t it Participant E: yeah like if it’s amazing then yeah but if its not.. Participant C: Maybe not local brands maybe like small distribution brands because like not everyone else is going to have it Participant A: Small labels yes definitely like Norse and shit like that?

Participant C: Yeah like APC and stuff? Participant A: I would be more inclined yeah because like less people have it Participant C: With like MIMM clothing stuff maybe yeah but I wouldn’t consider that as local though, it probably comes down more to it being like limited edition and not everyone has it? And limited amounts Participant D: Yeah I’d buy from them so you don’t have everybody wearing the same shit on nights out and stuff

Sinead: Q24- Each person’s purpose in life is to express themselves? Participant E: Disagree Participant C: Nahhhh Participant D: No Participant A: It’s like to get a good career but then that could be seen as expressing themselves I suppose? Participant C: I’d say it’s to reproduce? Participant E: What like every single person? Participant A: I suppose like you express yourself in a certain way and how you want to be so like you express yourself by getting like bare money or you express yourself by like doing something sick like your career or have children etc Participant D: I think everyone’s purpose in life should be to be a zoo keeper!

Sinead: Q25- Brands need to use emotion to engage with me more to create personality.. Participant C: Yeah I don’t think they just emotion enough Participant A: If they sent me a really nice personal email which I knew hadn’t been sent to everyone then I think that would be cool but then I still don’t think I would be bothered by an email they usually just go in my Junk mail any way. Participant D: If they contacted me personally it would be cool Participant C: Yeah it makes you like keep the company in mind when shopping around I think and when you go to buy new stuff? But at the end of the day it is all spam really? Participant A: When I got something from Carharrt recently they threw a bag of haribo in with it to I think that’s pretty personal and cool

Sinead: Q26- Brands need to create more of a lifestyle so that they can be engrained into my everyday life.. Participant A: Like if they did a free party or something and people like brought the brands or like something like that then that would be good Participant C: Yeah kind of like sample sales which are good like I like when they like share their clothes and stuff all of that stuff is pretty cool Participant D: Or if you have bought from them before and you get reduced rates that’s pretty cool, yeah if like they give me free food and stuff definitely Participant E: Our Legacy did them parties in the summer they did all that cool stuff, they did like a rooftop party in London with Millionhands it was sick and they had a really good line up

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THE INTERNET IS A BAD THING FOR NICHE BRANDS BECAUSE EVERYONE IS GOING TO FIND OUT ABOUT THEM

I AM MORE INCLINED TO BUY FROM SMALL LOCAL HOME GROWN BRANDS, THAN BIG MAINSTREAM MASS MARKET BRANDS

BRANDS NEED TO USE EMOTION TO ENGAGE WITH ME MORE TO CREATE PERSONALITY..

Sinead: Q27- Apparel brands should just stick to apparel.. Participant E: What instead of like home ware and shit like that? Participant D: I like it when they do stuff for luggage and stuff because I wouldn’t buy it from anywhere else Participant A: I wouldn’t buy a fashion brand watch, like a watch by a fashion brand I want my watch to be made by a watch brand Participant C: Definitely stick to one thing and do well at it Participant D: But then sometimes they can do like sick stuff Participant A: Them Carharrt headphones are awful Participant E: If they did collaborations I would be more inclined to buy from them yeah but then I like it when clothing brands do shoes but then their main emphasis should still be on clothes Participant A: Stussy collaborations are good Participant D: Ha when nike made them new ski boots they were cool

Sinead: Q28- I would be more inclined to buy from brands that use subcultures or interesting things from around the world within their marketing campaigns or film shorts.. Participant C: Yeah Participant A: Yep Participant C: Even if it is wasn’t cool but it probably would be Sinead: So even if they didn’t sell their clothes on the adverts and they showed you other cultures, while they were wearing the clothes it would attract you? Participant C: I think it makes brands a lot more interesting yeah Participant A: If you knew like where it was being filmed and you knew who was making it and stuff that would be really cool Participant E: So kind of like incorporating popular culture into their brands? Participant A: Its like Levis do that don’t they? Yeah its cool I like stuff like that

Sinead: Q29- The internet is a bad thing for niche brands because everyone is going to find out about them.. Participant C: Yes but it comes down to taste to an extent.. Participant D: If they make it limited edition then surely it isn’t going to have an impact? Participant A: They wouldn’t be able to stay in business if it wasn’t for the internet Participant E: I don’t think it makes a different because people’s tastes still dictate how popular they get to an extent it really depends though

Sinead: Q30- I would like brands to have communities so that I could engage with the other consumers within the community.. Participant A: Yeah it would be good if you could like ask other people what the quality of clothes were but then it all comes down to opinion doesn’t it? Participant D: If everyone could read everyone else’s reviews on things then that would good, but like I can never really be arsed, I wouldn’t ask like my own questions to other people, like I don’t really want to have like another Facebook sort of thing Participant C: Not really, you kind of like stuff or you don’t Participant A: Yeah you aren’t going to ask other people do you like the texture etc Participant C: It would be cool if people were like yeah this item is decent it doesn’t fuck up Participant B: It would be cool if like brands had communities around them with like-minded people and stuff because I rate that people that buy into niche brands and know what they are talking about fashion wise all have the same sort of likes and dislikes outside of fashion so to do with like music etc so like brands could bring together people that buy their stuff?

Thankyou very much for your participation.

Appendix 10- ASOS and TH!NK EU Community Workshop Participated in a focus group with ASOS and TH!NK marketing at their headquarters about the next step their brand is going to take, below are my notes from the 3 hour focus group. As discussed at the start of the focus group ASOS have realised that the next step is to get personal with the consumers, to make them feel wanted. ASOS is going to become the place where people come together to form communities sharing the latest trends and style influences within the world of fashion and culture.

With ASOS’s new online platform you will be able to see what clothes on the website would look like alongside your current wardrobe. You will be able to take photos through smartphone applications and click on the instantly in your wardrobe button. Mix and match items and see what looks good with items you currently have. As a member you will be able to tag a certain piece of clothing after you have bought it linked with words that describe your style- for example ‘rad’, you can then search the tags or words which you think describes your style. This function will be user-defined and monitored by interns or

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stylists. Tags- studded, cool,

that you may like.

New generation (NEWGEN) designers will be helped by ASOS to sell their stuff on marketplace version two a platform for new designers.

With your ASOS profile page you will be able to create pages such as ‘I am looking for’ ‘Things I have bought’ ‘My style’ ‘My wish list’ these can be made public or private to a select group of people. They can include pictures of current items, pictures of street style, celebrities, hidden cultures, quotes any thing that you feel connects with that board. The boards will be trend led and available to view worldwide.

ASOS will be able to promote your clothing next to the designer’s equivalent, designer’s vs street. Brings in street style and the ever-changing relationship between street and designers The ‘My wardrobe’ part of the website will be able to create outfits for you virtually online, you will be able to see what other items look like alongside other pieces that you have previously bought. ASOS will have a team of aspiring stylists, suggesting to you things you may like on a more personal and grounded level, items that are your size, your style, your fit, this helps the brand engage with consumers on a much more personable level. ASOS is designing a new image recognition part of the website, you will be able to take pictures of people on the street, the programme will be able to recognize the items that are in the photo and will then recommend where to buy and what brand the item are, connecting you to a buy it now button where you can click and the purchase, this is the forefront of the connection between street style and stylists. The new ASOS community. ASOS will be the new place for try, style, fit, want, need, link, learn, connect, recommend. ASOS have discovered that people don’t realise how much their surroundings have an effect on them, therefore they will create communities through profile pages on the website or through a smartphone application, it will link instagram, blogger, and all other user-generated websites. ASOS will be the place where you can create a profile page, like other online platforms it will include your name, age and location if you would like it to. There is space for a profile picture and then your sizing’s, your sizing’s will be available to just ASOS, this is so they can recommend you items that are in your size, items that have just come in in your style and things

The profile and the boards will have a blog like aesthetic where you can bring in links from pintrest, blogspot, tumblr; like pintrest you will be able to attach it onto your lifestyle boards. Influential style boards will be able to be rated and you can subscribe to other users boards, the more subscribers or the higher the rating of your inspiration boards the more chance you have of winning items. Through your profile you will have to chance to be a click away from chatting with stylists and other people from within the ASOS community, you will be able to see the people that have previously bought the items you are going to purchase to ask them about the quality, fit or style. From your boards you will have the opportunity to be invited into sub-communities of trends or styles that are related to you, within these sub-communities you will be able to chat with influential people, people whose boards you like and receive recommendations from other members who follow you within your sub-group. This whole aesthetic is to give the community personal touches and improve their brand experience through creating a community feeling and being more connected with the brand. ASOS will be the place where you can chat to buyers to suggest trends or items of clothing they may not have noticed, so the brand is more integrated with the consumers, from the streets to the buyers the brand can work both ways and be more connected on a more personal level. Through the new platforms you will be able to see just exactly how your item was produced, where the buyers got their inspiration, which subcultures, cultures, people inspired their work.

Appendix 11- Day in the life of packs for young consumers

TOM TOM 19, Single, College, Cleaner ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE YOURSELF: Cheeky

1. The time in history I would go back to if I had the chance: 2010 2. The one event I wished I attended/could attend, past, present or future: Renaissance 3. The tribe/ culture I would be a part of, if I was in the right era or place: European 4. The place I would love to live in the world: LA 5. The religion I wish I was part of: Buddhism 6. The fictional character I would be is: Dorian Gray 7. The thing about myself I wish didn’t exist: Fat 8. The person I wish I could be is: Josh Hutchinson- My best friend 9. The animal I wish I could be reincarnated as: Dog 10. The one age I wish I could stay forever: 22 11. The name I would change to if I had the opportunity: Theodore 12. The artist’s work that I would collect if I had enough money: Van Gogh 13. The 3 brands I could spend £1 million on: Apple, Penguin Books & Lamborghini 14. The job I would love to have: Morning Radio TV presenter or an Artist 15. The single item that I would take to the desert: Sanbuggie 16. The things I would invest my life savings in: Apple 17. The three items I would keep on my bedside table: Phone, Cigarettes and Lighter 18. The first thing I would do if I won the lottery: Buy expensive Champagne 19. The one thing I hope for in life: More money 20. The one thing I wish was better in the world: Food 21. The superpower I wish I could have is: Controlling the elements

22. The person I would meet if I had chance living or dead would be: J.K. Rowling 23. The one piece of advice I live my life by: Relax 24. The person I wish I could give all my time in the world to: Family 25. The one question I would get answered if I could would be: Who’s playing at Leeds festival? 26. The famous person I would love to go to dinner with: Stephan Fry 27. The person I would love to have as a best friend: Stephan Fry 28. The one song I could spend the rest of my life listening to: I’d rather die than listen to the same song over and over again (just put on some song by circuit chameleon a pop culture youtube band) 29. The thing I wish I could learn to do if I had all the time in the world: Learn another language 30. The creative talent I wish I had: Writing 31. The film I would be an actor/actress in if I could: Friends 32. The food I would eat for the rest of my life: Chicken and Tomato Pasta 33. The one project I would work on if I had to for a year: Read as many books as possible 34. The thing I wish I had invented is: Apple 35. The best book I have ever read: I’d say Looking for alaska by john green 36. The things I would do if I was immortal for the day: My normal day 37. The thing I would do in my leisure time all day if I had the opportunity: Socialize 38. The media channel I would use for the rest of my life: BBC 39. The one thing I would love to receive as a gift: Macbook Pro 40. The website/blog I couldn’t live without: Facebook 41. The one place I want to travel to: ASIA

AUTHENTICITY OF THE UNKNOWN

JAMES WILD 21, single, ba hons, Surface DJ ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE YOURSELF: Fantastic

1. The time in history I would go back to if I had the chance Late 1980’s 2. The one event I wished I attended/could attend, past, present or future The fall of the Berlin Wall 3. The tribe/ culture I would be a part of, if I was in the right era or place ZULU! 4. The place I would love to live in the world Barcelona 5. The religion I wish I was part of Buddhism 6. The fictional character I would be is God 7. The thing about myself I wish didn’t exist Asthma 8. The person I wish I could be is Matt King- my best friend, my djing partner 9. The animal I wish I could be reincarnated as An Owl 10. The one age I wish I could stay forever 21 11. The name I would change to if I had the opportunity Quain 12. The artist’s work that I would collect if I had enough money All of Mike Joyce’s posters 13. The 3 brands I could spend £1 million on Tom Ford, Margaret Howell and Paul Smith 14. The job I would love to have Film maker 15. The single item that I would take to the desert Quad bike 16. The things I would invest my life savings in Property 17. The three items I would keep on my bedside table Phone, watch and water probably 18. The first thing I would do if I won the lottery Travel 19. The one thing I hope for in life Freedom 20. The one thing I wish was better in the world TV 21. The superpower I wish I could have is Ability to stop time 22. The person I would meet if I had chance living or dead would

be Jim Morrison 23. The one piece of advice I live my life by Don’t shit on your own doorstep 24. The person I wish I could give all my time in the world to The person who created music 25. The one question I would get answered if I could would be Where’s wally? 26. The famous person I would love to go to dinner with Morgan Freeman 27. The person I would love to have as a best friend Jim Morrison 28. The one song I could spend the rest of my life listening Radiohead – Pyramid Song 29. The thing I wish I could learn to do if I had all the time in the world Play piano well or to learn a lot of languages 30. The creative talent I wish I had Drawing 31. The film I would be an actor/actress in if I could Quadrophenia 32. The food I would eat for the rest of my life Steak 33. The one project I would work on if I had to for a year How to see sound 34. The thing I wish I had invented is Jet pack 35. The best book I have ever read Blink – the power of thinking without thinking 36. The things I would do if I was immortal for the day Attempt suicide 37. The thing I would do in my leisure time all day if I had the opportunity Make music 38. The media channel I would use for the rest of my life Internet 39. The one thing I would love to receive as a gift Smeg fridge 40. The website/blog I couldn’t live without Resident advisor 41. The one place I want to travel to South America

JED WILSON- SALT 17, Single, College, Unemployed ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE YOURSELF: Indecisive

1. The time in history I would go back to if I had the chance: 1960s 2. The one event I wished I attended/could attend, past, present or future: recording of “Iowa” his fav band “slipknot”’s first album 3. The tribe/ culture I would be a part of, if I was in the right era or place: ZULU 4. The place I would love to live in the world: Iceland 5. The religion I wish I was part of: Buddhism 6. The fictional character I would be is: Haniball Lecter 7. The thing about myself I wish didn’t exist: Tallness 8. The person I wish I could be is: My best friend 9. The animal I wish I could be reincarnated as: Black Cat 10. The one age I wish I could stay forever: 25 11. The name I would change to if I had the opportunity: Jed Salvador (named after \/ \/) 12. The artist’s work that I would collect if I had enough money: Salvador Dali 13. The 3 brands I could spend £1 million on: Warrick bass, Gibson (guitars) and Apple 14. The job I would love to have: Musician 15. The single item that I would take to the desert: Bear Grills – if that’s cheating a lighter 16. The things I would invest my life savings in: Apple 17. The three items I would keep on my bedside table: Ipod, book (probably darren shan) and phone 18. The first thing I would do if I won the lottery: Go to the pub and buy a round 19. The one thing I hope for in life: Comfort 20. The one thing I wish was better in the world: Human Nature 21. The superpower I wish I could have is:

Telekinesis 22. The person I would meet if I had chance living or dead would be: Salvador Dali 23. The one piece of advice I live my life by: Always carry a towel (A pop culture reference to hitchhikers guide to the galaxy) 24. The person I wish I could give all my time in the world to: Family or myself 25. The one question I would get answered if I could would be: How the universe began 26. The famous person I would love to go to dinner with: Darren Brown 27. The person I would love to have as a best friend: Marilyn Manson 28. The one song I could spend the rest of my life listening to: Don’t go there!!! N/a (basically there are too many to choose from, I’d probably just say he said some slipknot or korn song) 29. The thing I wish I could learn to do if I had all the time in the world: Play the guitar really well 30. The creative talent I wish I had: Writing 31. The film I would be an actor/actress in if I could: The cat in the hat 32. The food I would eat for the rest of my life: Lasagne 33. The one project I would work on if I had to for a year: Building the mellenium falcon 34. The thing I wish I had invented is: The wheel 35. The best book I have ever read: N/a (too many to choose, just put in some darren shan book) 36. The things I would do if I was immortal for the day: Swim in a volcano 37. The thing I would do in my leisure time all day if I had the opportunity: Play the Guitar 38. The media channel I would use for the rest of my life: Internet 39. The one thing I would love to receive as a gift: Thunder Bird Base 40. The website/blog I couldn’t live without: Facebook 41. The one place I want to travel to: Iceland

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LIAM DOODY 23, Single, A Levels and Ba Hons (just about), Recently fired, currently a full time raver ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE YOURSELF: Weird and Extravagent

1. The time in history I would go back to if I had the chance The Acid Raves of the 1980’s 2. The one event I wished I attended/could attend, past, present or future Daft Punk 3. The tribe/ culture I would be a part of, if I was in the right era or place Beatles / 60s Hippys 4. The place I would love to live in the world Peru 5. The religion I wish I was part of Buddhism 6. The fictional character I would be is Dorian Grey 7. The thing about myself I wish didn’t exist Wish I never had to sleep 8. The person I wish I could be is Russell Brand 9. The animal I wish I could be reincarnated as Polar Bear 10. The one age I wish I could stay forever 21 11. The name I would change to if I had the opportunity Liam-azing 12. The artist’s work that I would collect if I had enough money Salvador Dali 13. The 3 brands I could spend £1 million on Adidas, Levis, Tom Ford 14. The job I would love to have Hollywood Agent 15. The single item that I would take to the desert Drugs 16. The things I would invest my life savings in Diamond mines 17. The three items I would keep on my bedside table Water, vallium, phone 18. The first thing I would do if I won the lottery Go on a very long bender 19. The one thing I hope for in life Happiness to always be smiling 20. The one thing I wish was better in the world Bank balance 21. The superpower I wish I could have is Read minds 22. The person I would meet if I had chance living or dead would

be Oscar Wilde 23. The one piece of advice I live my life by Live life with no regrets 24. The person I wish I could give all my time in the world to Rosie Huntington-Whiteley or my family 25. The one question I would get answered if I could would be Why does it have to end? 26. The famous person I would love to go to dinner with Oscar Wilde 27. The person I would love to have as a best friend My friends, one isn’t enough, everyone has their own quality’s to contribute to our sick ‘Too Far Team’ 28. The one song I could spend the rest of my life listening to Dancing in the Moonlight - Toploader 29. The thing I wish I could learn to do if I had all the time in the world Poker World Class or a be fluent in an amazing language 30. The creative talent I wish I had Musical Genius 31. The film I would be an actor/actress in if I could Coach Carter 32. The food I would eat for the rest of my life Sushi 33. The one project I would work on if I had to for a year Writing a book 34. The thing I wish I had invented is Google 35. The best book I have ever read How to meditate 36. The things I would do if I was immortal for the day Do too many drugs 37. The thing I would do in my leisure time all day if I had the opportunity Party 38. The media channel I would use for the rest of my life Internet 39. The one thing I would love to receive as a gift Saville Row Suit 40. The website/blog I couldn’t live without The Telegraph 41. The one place I want to travel to Peru

JESS DIXON 17, single, school and college hoping to get into university in September, no job ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE YOURSELF: Unique

1. The time in history I would go back to if I had the chance: I wouldn’t to be honest 2. The one event I wished I attended/could attend, past, present or future: When England had no monarch, 1653-1658 3. The tribe/ culture I would be a part of, if I was in the right era or place: Iceni (tribe from 1st century BC to 1st century AD, Norfolk) 4. The place I would love to live in the world: Amazon rainforest 5. The religion I wish I was part of: None 6. The fictional character I would be is: Gandalf, Lord Of The Rings 7. The thing about myself I wish didn’t exist: Being argumentative 8. The person I wish I could be is: Gandalf... 9. The animal I wish I could be reincarnated as: Flamingo! 10. The one age I wish I could stay forever: 18 11. The name I would change to if I had the opportunity: Memphis 12. The artist’s work that I would collect if I had enough money: Not sure 13. The 3 brands I could spend £1 million on: I wouldn’t spend that much 14. The job I would love to have: Author 15. The single item that I would take to the desert: A book 16. The things I would invest my life savings in: Not sure...a charity 17. The three items I would keep on my bedside table: Phone, water, glasses 18. The first thing I would do if I won the lottery: Give to charity 19. The one thing I hope for in life: To be happy (bit of a cliche, oh well) 20. The one thing I wish was better in the world: If inequality was destroyed

21. The superpower I wish I could have: To be invisible 22. The person I would meet if I had chance living or dead would be: Nelson Mandela 23. The one piece of advice I live my life by: Treat others as you would like to be treated 24. The person I wish I could give all my time in the world to: I don’t think there’s one person tbh 25. The one question I would get answered if I could would be: Is there a God? 26. The famous person I would love to go to dinner with: Not sure 27. The person I would love to have as a best friend: Not sure 28. The one song I could spend the rest of my life listening to: Don’t think there is one in particular; I’m easy on music really 29. The thing I wish I could learn to do if I had all the time in the world: Learn loads of languages 30. The creative talent I wish I had: Be able to draw 31. The film I would be an actor/actress in if I could: Lord Of The Rings 32. The food I would eat for the rest of my life: Mushrooms 33. The one project I would work on if I had to for a year: Writing a novel 34. The thing I wish I had invented is: The camera 35. The best book I have ever read: Lord Of The Rings 36. The things I would do if I was immortal for the day: Hmmm...not sure 37. The thing I would do in my leisure time all day if I had the opportunity: Travel around 38. The media channel I would use for the rest of my life: Internet 39. The one thing I would love to receive as a gift: Time to spend with friends/family etc. 40. The website/blog I couldn’t live without: The telegraph 41. The one place I want to travel to: There are many places really...South Africa.

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CHLOE WICKS 21, Single, Stockport Grammar School1995 – 2008. The Manchester College BTEC National diploma in Fashion and clothing London college of Fashion (UAL) – ‘Access to HE diploma: Fashion Media and Communication’. ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE YOURSELF: Independent

1. The time in history I would go back to if I had the chance: Studying in New York 2. The one event I wished I attended/could attend, past, present or future: New York Fashion Week. 3. The tribe/ culture I would be a part of, if I was in the right era or place: PUNK 4. The place I would love to live in the world: New York. 5. The religion I wish I was part of: Buddhism 6. The fictional character I would be is: God 7. The thing about myself I wish didn’t exist: Jealousy 8. The person I wish I could be is: My mum 9. The animal I wish I could be reincarnated as: Dolphin. 10. The one age I wish I could stay forever: 25. 11. The name I would change to if I had the opportunity: Sacha 12. The artist’s work that I would collect if I had enough money: Andy Warhol. 13. The 3 brands I could spend £1 million on: Chanel, Alexander Mcqueen & Louboutin. 14. The job I would love to have: Own my own fashion PR company. 15. The single item that I would take to the desert: My phone. 16. The things I would invest my life savings in: House or Fun 17. The three items I would keep on my bedside table: Mobile, iPod & iPad. 18. The first thing I would do if I won the lottery: Travel the world 19. The one thing I hope for in life: Happiness? 20. The one thing I wish was better in the world: Equal Rights 21. The superpower I wish I could have is: To Fly 22. The person I would meet if I had chance living or dead would be:

Audrey Hepburn. 23. The one piece of advice I live my life by: Never regret anything 24. The person I wish I could give all my time in the world to: Friends 25. The one question I would get answered if I could would be: How the world works 26. The famous person I would love to go to dinner with: Karl Largerfeld 27. The person I would love to have as a best friend: My friends at the moment? 28. The one song I could spend the rest of my life listening to: Ludovico 29. The thing I wish I could learn to do if I had all the time in the world: Play Piano. 30. The creative talent I wish I had: Painting 31. The film I would be an actor/actress in if I could: Devil Wears Prada. 32. The food I would eat for the rest of my life: Pasta. 33. The one project I would work on if I had to for a year: Be a festival organiser 34. The thing I wish I had invented is: The internet 35. The best book I have ever read: I heart New York. 36. The things I would do if I was immortal for the day: Skydive 37. The thing I would do in my leisure time all day if I had the opportunity: Shopping! 38. The media channel I would use for the rest of my life: Internet 39. The one thing I would love to receive as a gift: Diamond ring. 40. The website/blog I couldn’t live without: Pintrest 41. The one place I want to travel to: California.

DAN DOBSON 20, single, UAL Foundation Diploma in Art & Design, work at Domino’s Pizza ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE YOURSELF: Happy

1. The time in history I would go back to if I had the chance: Ancient Egypt 2. The one event I wished I attended/could attend, past, present or future: Victory in Europe day 3. The tribe/ culture I would be a part of, if I was in the right era or place: Thrasher in the late 70s, helping change skateboarding forever. 4. The place I would love to live in the world: Germany 5. The religion I wish I was part of: Christianity 6. The fictional character I would be is: Jim Hawkins - treasure island 7. The thing about myself I wish didn’t exist: Sometimes I get court up in my own world and overlook other problems that might be acquiring at the time. 8. The person I wish I could be is: ED Templeton 9. The animal I wish I could be reincarnated as: Deer 10. The one age I wish I could stay forever: 21 11. The name I would change to if I had the opportunity: Ethan 12. The artist’s work that I would collect if I had enough money: Paul Wackers 13. The 3 brands I could spend £1 million on: Pentax, Leica, sup pop 14. The job I would love to have: A well-established illustrator 15. The single item that I would take to the desert : Compass 16. The things I would invest my life savings in: A shop that would sell everything I love, cameras, art, music skateboarding etc. 17. The three items I would keep on my bedside table: Record player, book, k1000 18. The first thing I would do if I won the lottery: Travel the world with my family 19. The one thing I hope for in life: To have my own family and succeed in my future career 20. The one thing I wish was better in the world: Currency

21. The superpower I wish I could have is: Flying 22. The person I would meet if I had chance living or dead would be: Pablo Picasso 23. The one piece of advice I live my life by: A new day holds new opportunities 24. The person I wish I could give all my time in the world to: Mother 25. The one question I would get answered if I could would be: How the universe came in to existence 26. The famous person I would love to go to dinner with: Bill Murray 27. The person I would love to have as a best friend: James Mercer 28. The one song I could spend the rest of my life listening to: New Slang 29. The thing I wish I could learn to do if I had all the time in the world: Learn an assortment of different languages 30. The creative talent I wish I had: Being able to paint landscapes 31. The film I would be an actor/actress in if I could: Into The Wild 32. The food I would eat for the rest of my life: Lasagna 33. The one project I would work on if I had to for a year: A Visual Self Portrait describing myself in various art methods. 34. The thing I wish I had invented is: The internet 35. The best book I have ever read: Dean Koontz - velocity 36. The things I would do if I was immortal for the day: Spend the day underwater in the Bahamas 37. The thing I would do in my leisure time all day if I had the opportunity: Drawing 38. The media channel I would use for the rest of my life: E4 39. The one thing I would love to receive as a gift: Vinyl records 40. The website/blog I couldn’t live without: Spotify 41. The one place I want to travel to: Africa

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Appendix 12- Less Clothing Independent Brand Interview Q1. How would you describe LESS clothing as a brand?

Yes I feel there is culture around the brand but it’s still a long way off how well established in the market we want to be.

We are a uni-sex clothing brand, producing the same garments for male and female alike, we try to attain the youth aesthetic within our brand and offer them something cool.

Q8. You are stocked in a range of different shops across the UK, were you very selective about these?

Q2. What does LESS clothing aim to provide for the consumer?

All of the shops came to me apart from The Laden Showrooms on Brick Lane in London. It was nice to be approached and I am now stocked in all major cities apart from a few. These shops are very independent which I am a huge supporter of.

We aim to provide garments that are unique and bring something more than just your average garment, something quite cool that no other person their age would have. Our concept is key to what we do and we think about each product to make it stand out from other brands.

Q3. Who is LESS clothing’s target demographic? 18-30 male or female fashion conscious sub-cultural group members

Q4. How would you describe a typical LESS clothing consumer?

Q9. Do you feel brands need to create more of a lifestyle around their brand? Depends on which market they sit, but there are a lot of new brands popping up in my market just because they see it as a cool thing to do which is fine but if you’re going to do it - do it properly.

Q10. Would you ever make your brand exclusive? Like a “members only” aesthetic?

Same as above, but they are searching for something different, something that when they wear it they feel unique.

Yes, well that’s another concept of the brand we wanted to have a limited edition feel to the brand but still affordable for our market, for example the signature leatherette cuffs.

Q5. Do sub-cultures or niche groups have any impact on your brand?

Q11. If you did do this do you feel it would make your brand more desirable?

Yes, subcultures and their style give LESS a lot of inspiration even going to looking at the early movements such as punks and mods etc. I did my dissertation on the effects of music and fashion on graphic communication and looked into sub cultures in depth so this has played a massive part in the graphics I use for LESS, as each design has a message and early movements like punk wore messages all the time.

Q6. Your visuals are quite anti-mainstream do you aim to target a niche consumer base with these? I do have a demographic but if anyone likes the brand or the graphics that’s great too, I want my consumers to take what they want from the graphics and make their own story from it. Every graphic has a story linked to my personal life whether it be implicit or explicit.

Q7. Do you feel you have created a certain culture around your brand?

I think this has made our brand more desirable. And we are developing new ideas based on this concept all the time.

Q12. Do you feel emotions need to be used more by brands to create personality? Well I’m not sure about all the other brands but this is a personal journey for me as a designer and a creative person, like I said earlier all our designs have a story behind them which for me I love and if I was on the other side if the fence I would buy into this. I do feel that other brands need personality yes otherwise who’s going to buy into boring brand or a boring concept? Certainly not me!

Q13. Do you know of any brands which have a “members only” aesthetic around them which makes them more desirable to the mass market? Topman limited, Sparks, ACNE

Appendix 13- Creative Director of VICE- Ronojoy Dam Q1. Do you feel a culture / community has been created around VICE magazine? When VICE started, we wrote about the things we were interested in that nobody else was. The simple by-product of that was that we created a unique editorial voice and a culture around it. VICE has always been a free magazine. We created our own personal distribution model. And a community that is into the same things that we are has developed globally. For a youth culture title, that’s awesome. It’s all been very straightforward and natural. Young people see through bullshit.

Q2. In the age of mass brands did everything to ‘fit in’ VICE magazine has created something different, something no one else is doing; is that why VICE magazine has succeeded and now has such a vast worldwide following? VICE is now a global media brand. We want to be the Time Warner of a new generation. That’s about as mass as it comes. We don’t care about being ‘cool’. That’s just a by-word for small. We care

about being authentic and telling it straight, to as many people as we can. The main difference is we’re not bothered about the competition or what other brands are doing, we just care about doing things we want to do. And that fundamental DIY mentality is why we’re now valued at $1billion.

Q3. At VICE you have a very authentic tone of voice down to the topics that VICE covers and at VICE you are very in touch with your consumers, do you feel this is why they keep coming back for more? Of course it is. We are our audience. We’re not second guessing what they’d be into. And we have a strong editorial tone of voice that cuts through all the self-pious and pompous bullshit you can get with other lifestyle titles.

Q4. Sum the magazine up in 3 words.. In 3 words? Viva La Revolucion! Ronojoy Dam

Creative Director

Appendix 14- Skull and Bones Boys Club Independent Brand Interview Q1. How would you describe Skull and Bones boys club as a brand? We are basically a few mates that stumbled onto what we considered a bit of a good idea, without realizing. Skull and Bones boys club was started a year ago. Both me- Anthony and Dean study at Sheffield Hallam University and because like all students we had no money and we wanted a ps3. It formed into a business quickly and well that’s why we are here today! The brand is an unplanned, quick make do brand which we now adore and love. Online, Niche, Underground.

Q2. What does Skull and Bones boys club aim to provide for the consumer? As we said before we are made up of two people, one of us me-Anthony Allen deals with all the creative direction, design and screen printing of all the products while the other-Dean Milwain takes care of all the business matters, logistics etc. We really like to push the fact that everything is still hand printed in house, so we’d like to think that we offer our customers a unique product every time, from a small organically grown business that has a bit of a ‘no nonsense’ attitude.

Q3. Who is Skull and Bones boys clubs target demographic? We set out to appeal to people like us to start with, 16-25 year old males into ‘alternative culture’ (sorry I hate that term).

We quickly found though that our brand was adopted by more subcultures than we previously anticipated, and we found that the under estimated revenue made from the female share of the demographic was worth looking into. A good sub-case study was that when we tried to release a few female only garments, they flopped, it turns out our appeal to the female market was because it was a ‘boys club’ and they all wanted in. Rebellion seems to be the key driver of our consumers, just like those within sub cultures rebelling and escaping, that’s what people come to our brand for, for the feelings of belonging, escapism and alternative.

Q4. Why do you hate the term alternative culture? We feel that to anyone, any culture can be alternative if it isn’t the culture that you buy into then it is an alternative culture to you. Urban dictionary states that alternative culture means to go against the mainstream and popular culture, by creating and adhering to a moral system that is outside the bounds of accepted conduct by the majority of the dominant culture. To us our brand is just trying to be different and by doing that we get thrown into the huge bracket that is alternative culture.

Q5. How would you describe a typical Skull and Bones boys club consumer? There isn’t a specific consumer, sorry to be a pain! Our consumer is anyone. Our online consumers that come directly to us tend

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to be between 18-25, even split male and female either young professional or students, with a strong interest in independent companies, British manufacturing and hardcore /punk /metal music. Our retail customers through our main UK stockist which is ARK could be anyone, so we don’t effect how out online persona is perceived, we tend to not mention or highlight any retail chains that we are stocked in throughout the UK and Europe.

Q6. Do sub-cultures or niche groups have any impact on your brand? Yes, there are a lot of UK tribes, hipsters, thrash kids, emo’s the list goes on. If you class them as a sub-culture or a niche group then they do have an impact on our brand because these sorts of youths are dressing this way or listening to that sort of music because they want to stand out they want to be different and therefore they come to our brand and buy our stuff because we are niche and they can’t get anything different in the big shops.

Q7. Your visuals are quite anti-mainstream do you aim to target a niche consumer base with these? Definitely, as the designer, I quite like to take the mick of terms such as ‘street wear’ etc. We don’t like to take ourselves too seriously and try to get that across. Nearly everything you see marketing/ad/promotion wise will be done on the spot in the space of half an hour in-between silk screens being cleaned or while garments dry. We make the things we would like as consumers and just hope that they sell.

Q8. Do you feel you have created a certain culture around your brand? In a way yeah, it is really nice when we receive emails from our consumers, we are very personal with every consumer but it also shows how quick we’ve grown (and using this fact as part of your marketing as a brag factor) has generated a lot of copy cats that are practically rubbish at what they do.

Q9. Do you feel brands need to create more of a lifestyle around their brand? As the creators of our brand we just do what we do. We honestly didn’t mean to create a sense of a lifestyle around our brand

because everything we put on our website and on our online presence, whether it be someone passed out drunk or a show we’ve booked in a skate park, is things we would be doing without SABBC, we kind of use it as a platform to get our brands point across. If I had to advise any brand or product about creating a ‘life style’ around their brand I’d just say be careful because people can smell a phoney a mile off, and the brand and products will fail miserably. In-fact reading that back if it doesn’t come naturally through the designer to have an original lifestyle created around the brand then my answer is no there is no point. Authenticity or nothing at all.

Q10. Would you ever make your brand exclusive? Like a “members only” aesthetic? We achieved this without knowing the word ‘Boys Club’ in our brand as we mentioned before hit a chord with female consumers, as they wanted SABBC by the bucked load. I think we use the term ‘club’ in a very loose way, not meant to be elitist or to portray any kind of exclusivity, but more to make people feel apart of something and to belong.

Q11. Do you feel emotions need to be used more by brands to create personality? Haha, yeah, I think we come across as pretty grumpy alchoholics in our online campaigns, thats pretty true to the point. I think we also come acros as friendly, but more in a primary direct form, we anwer all emails (the two founding owners) personally, and everything is dealt in an informal way, again, without realising this kind of spread a bit, and its nice that people see us kind of stand up guys.

Q12. Do you know of any brands which have a “members only” aesthetic around them which makes them more desirable to the mass market? Not to my knowledge (I keep my head in the sand a lot regarding the current market etc, Its so easily to be influenced by other people without realising.) I think appealing to a niche market wil only result in it appealing to a much larger over time, Maybe portraying something like a ‘members only’ will work in the short run, but people will eventually just see you as snobby or a bit of a dickish brand (if you get my drift?!)

Appendix 15- Berghain Interviews on the walk of shame Berghain is the most exclusive place within Berlin, the electronic music capital of the world. Berghain is a challenge, with hoards of people turned away at the door and with widely discussed theories about who makes the cut, some say they don’t like groups of three, some say they only like gay people and they some say don’t like international people. Why is it so desirable? Why do people come back time and time again? How can they have such a strict door policy? How can they be so judgemental? Are they shifting through people to get their desired consumer? I conducted some interviews outside the Berghain nightclub on the infamous walk of shame. Kate Miller, 21 London England The bouncer didn’t even allow me to speak any of the German language that I had been learning throughout the queue, I learnt how to say how many people I was with and how old I was. I think the issue was that I wasn’t German, they hate tourists or anyone who can’t speak the language basically! Even though I got turned away I would definitely return, I think the exclusivity drives people to go there more, if it wasn’t exclusive why would people long to go so much? Everywhere in Berlin is exclusive but Berghain is one of the most!

Chikay Lo, 23 After queuing an hour at around 6am on a Sunday morning to get into the most ‘prestigious yet underground club’ in Berlin to not get in, you can imagine we were not a happy bunch of girls. As with any other place it’s never nice to be turned away; especially after we followed all the advice to a tee, dressed down, kept quiet in the queue and stayed in pairs. There’s a clear prejudice against tourists/foreigners which is frustrating because so much of the city’s budget is generated through tourism. Mixed emotions of anger and disappointment come to mind but this was quickly forgotten as we collapsed back into bed, we had after all only got in from our last night out on Saturday evening. Would I go back again? 100%, this exclusivity, though unfair adds to the glamour and allure that the city exudes. Also helps to go with a set of awesome friends so you have fun no matter where you end up.

Maddie Doyle, 22 Berlin Even though they didn’t let me in every time I try again sometimes up to three times in the night, normally that wouldn’t be ok but they turn so many people away at Berghain that they wouldn’t be able to remember who they have and who they haven’t, sometimes it’s what you wear sometimes it’s how you behave in the queue, they expect minimal, it’s pretty insane how they can shift through so many people, you think people would put up a stance against it but they don’t the more exclusive it gets the more desirable it gets!

Unknown, 26 Paris I am conducting research into exclusivity and subcultures and I was wondering if I could ask a few questions that will be published within my university project? Yes, I agree

Why have you been turned away? I just got turned away because he said I was on my own, he questioned if I was meeting anyone inside and I said no, he said if I was they would have let me in, the policy changes every time I come, if you don’t smile the right way, if you don’t have the right scarf on or if you aren’t gay. I think it’s because I know little German and they really don’t like that.

Why can they be so selective? They can be selective because it makes them more and more desirable, if you can’t get into that place you will try and try and try until you are allowed in. It sounds stupid but they get away with it! It’s one of the best clubs in the world!

Will you be coming back? Of course, every weekend if I have to, there is no place like it, everyone who is there wants to be there and has worked to get there.

Tarah Wuestenberg, Berlin I am conducting research into exclusivity and subcultures and I was wondering if I could ask a few questions that will be published within my university project furthering my understanding of Berlin? Yeah cool

Why are you doing the walk of shame? We were turned away because we were a group of 3 apparently, better luck next time!

So will there be a next time? Will you return? Of course I come all the time; it’s not that sort of place where if you have been before you are guaranteed entry again, certainly not! They don’t recognise you unless you are on the guest list, and then they even make you wait and do the same judgement test.

What is their judgement? Do you have any indication of who they let in and who they don’t? You can read post after post of it on the internet nothing says what they do and what they don’t do, but there is always indication, no bright coloured clothing unless you’re gay, no male and female couples, no big groups usually more than 3 even though 3 didn’t work for us, no foreign people, but really it’s all down to luck!

Why do you think they can be like this? Because they are known for it, it’s almost part of the experience, if you get accepted it makes the night a different experience! On a whole new level.

When will you come back? Maybe in a couple of hours, or tomorrow, they turn thousands of people away over one weekend of the club being open they won’t recognise me, but maybe next weekend!

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Appendix 16- Interview with Sedge Berwick, Marketing and PR at ASOS Q1. What was the general idea behind the ASOS urban tour? We used customer insight behind the campaign that stated people wanted to see clothes in a native environment, they were passionate & excited by street wear so giving them the option to see things in that real situation gives a new angle to our product.

Q2. Why was the ASOS urban tour only produced for males? Like Topshop & Topman… ASOS & ASOS MW are two different brands – therefore the marketing and campaigns will be completely different. The majority of our 20something women aren’t attacked to clothes the same way guys are. Only sale campaigns are unisex, everything else will continue to be separate.

Q3. Why was the ASOS urban tour only a one off? It was a campaign, so once it’s done we’re onto something bigger & better. The last MW campaign (excluding xmas) was quite similar in the way of tapping into subcultures using Brazillian street artists for our Puma X Black launch (available on YouTube).

Q4. Why hasn’t the idea of subcultures been incorporated more into ASOS marketing to date? For MW, it has been – it pretty much always is. For WW, that’s not what works which is why MW & WW are two separate brands, two separate strategies, separate campaigns. We are always thinking of new ways to incorporate subcultures into what we do at ASOS because it works. It’s what will work in the future and it’s just what always has worked.

Appendix 17- Bassic Clothing Interview a certain following around the brand due to the limited runs, and Q1. How would you describe Bassic clothing as a brand? A street wear or lifestyle brand. Incorporating all forms of street culture into one simplistic brand that tries to generate new, interesting and simple ideas

Q2. What does Bassic clothing aim to provide for the consumer? We aim to provide the consumer with a high quality product with focus on attention to detail for customers who want to wear something slightly different.

Q3. Who is Basic clothing’s target demographic? Our target demographic is anyone who is enthusiastic about street culture and fashion, tending towards a younger crowd (16-24)

Q4. How would you describe a typical Bassic clothing consumer? Someone cool I hope.

Q5. Do sub-cultures or niche groups have any impact on your brand? We are influenced by sub cultures and niche groups, but it’s getting to a stage now where we can also be recognised as a niche group and we feel we can influence people. There are a few small brands in Newcastle similar to ours and we all bounce off each other really.

Q6. Your visuals are quite anti-mainstream do you aim to target a niche consumer base with these? We knew as soon as we started the brand that the worst thing to happen would be if the wrong people started wearing our brand. Bassic is a long term idea and we are (hopefully) nowhere near finished yet. We don’t aim to be against the mainstream but we try and create clothes that we ourselves would wear, and that it appeals to a limited audience which I believe is a good thing for longevity of the brand.

Q7. Do you feel you have created a certain culture around your brand? Not really, not yet. As time goes on we’d hope that we would build

the good quality. We’ve been around for a year now and probably only trading for 8 months so I don’t think we’ve had long enough really to create a culture around us yet.

Q8. Are you stocked in a range of different shops across the UK, and if so were you very selective about these? To be honest with you we’re only actually stocked in Capology so far! However, this shop really fits our brand as we are stocked next to some big brands which we look up to such as 10 deep, king apparel, mishka and entre lifestyle. Hopefully we will get more shops interested in our stuff, and when that time comes we will definitely be selective about the shops we want to be stocked in.

Q9. Do you feel brands need to create more of a lifestyle around their brand? I think it depends on the brand. With our style of brand I think it is important to bring lifestyle in to play. When you look at some of the biggest brands in the street culture such as supreme who are really market leaders there is a huge focus on lifestyle not just simply on clothes.

Q10. Would you ever make your brand exclusive? Like a “members only” aesthetic? It’s an interesting idea. We already like to look at our brand as exclusive already due to the small numbers. As for a member’s only brand I think it is something that can definitely work, but we don’t yet have the resources to create demand for such a thing.

Q11. If you did do this do you feel it would make your brand more desirable? 100%, most of the big street brands release clothes in very small batches and will not re-print them. This can turn clothes in to collectors’ items and definitely makes the brand more desirable.

Q12. Do you know of any brands which have a “members only” aesthetic around them which makes them more desirable to the mass market? Not a members only as such, but there are many brands which print with small runs.

Appendix 18- Stickers MANCHESTER- hipster LONDON- skateboarding, that is a subculture yes? MANCHESTER- LOTR [Lord of The Rings] MANCHESTER- skating MANCHESTER- Goth LONDON- music, djing LONDON- house music LONDON- skateboarding LONDON- Emo NOTTINGHAM- skating BERLIN- the music culture is my scene NOTTINGHAM- fashion? NOTTINGHAM- hipstaas BERLIN- skateboarding

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Appendix 19- Posters

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Appendix 20- Ethnography of Skateboarders

I conducted ethnography research into Skateboarders across major cities, Berlin, Nottingham, London and Manchester. I watched from a distance and watched the interaction between them and how they communicated with others from outside of their tribe and of the people who didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a skateboard. Below are my observational findings.

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Appendix 21- Blog

www.authenticityoftheunknown.tumblr.com

Appendix 22- Pinterest

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Appendix 23- Secret Cinema Experience The Secret Cinema Experience in December 2012 was a fundamental component to my research, as a true example of consumers engaging within the brand and the experience to make it happen. Re-enacting within the film Shawshank Redemption. It encompassed participants who had purchased tickets to be the actors within a film that they didn’t know until arrival, each were sent out an itinerary of what to wear and to apply for another identity, upon arrival you were picked up at your secret location by buses along with other ‘actors’ within the film, no phones, no money, no personal belongings were allowed, just your participant identity and phone credits. Within the experience many participants stated the experience was something unreal, and unexpected and that’s what will keep them coming back for more.

Appendix 24- Events Attended for Research 26.09.2012- 60 years of rebellion â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 60 years of Fred Perry at The Garage, London. Wednesday 13.11.2012- John Newling at the Nottingham Contemporary Art Museum 17.11.2012- 20 Years of Element x Flo Skate Jam. The opening of Flo Skatepark Nottingham 14.12.2012- Jackathon / Upon You Nacht at Watergate Nightclub Berlin 16.12.2012- Berghain nightclub Berlin 18.12.2012- Salon Zur Wilden Renate 01.01.2013- Warehouse Project NYD 03.01.2012- Light From the Middle East: New Photography V&A Museum

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APPENDIX 24- FACTS Skateboarding The key brands within skateboarding • DC • Vans • Element Skateboards • Quicksilver • Etnies • Skullcandy • CKY • DANK magazine • MSC Mass corporate teams • Nike SB • Adidas Skateboarding OTHER EVENTS Beautiful Days- No corporate sponsorship, no branding and no advertising Sunrise Celebration- Celebrating life through boundless creativity, inspiration and innovation UnBox festival- Celebration of interdisciplinary thought, community created festival Day Zero Festival- It will positively inform your soul’s position along the spiritual horizon Lightening in a bottle festival- Respectful engagement with indigenous people Rainbow Gatherings- Peace love and respect for nature Other Subcultures Explored • Os Kunduristas • Trainer Collectors • Steam Punks • Punks • The Sapeurs Africa • Dandies • Korea Feminsation of Man • In-line Skaters

Initial brief

frst breif

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tutorial record sheets

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presentation feedback

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ETHICAL CHECKLIST I confirm that this work has gained ethical approval and that I have faithfully observed the terms of the approval in the conduct of this project. Signed (student) ………………………………………………………………………

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED The following form was given to all participants to fully brief them on the project, its aims and their participation.

Nottingham Trent University School of Art and Design YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED Authenticity of the Unknown As you are aware I am a final year student at Nottingham Trent University studying Fashion Communication and Promotion, as part of my final year work I will be producing a research report into Subcultures, Brands and the future of Targeting Young People, this research project is based upon thorough primary and secondary research. I am running this study under supervision of my tutor and the University and have been trained in ethical consent. Through trying to gain further access and knowledge about Subcultures, Consumerism, Niche brands and Independent clothing brands, I would like to interview you as part of my sample. Your participation is entirely voluntary. No one else will be informed of your participation or non-participation.At any subsequent point, you can withdraw from the project and if you wish, withdraw any of the information that you have given so far (through interview or other). You do not have to give any reason for withdrawing. Any pictures taken throughout your interview process will be used by myself Sinead Gibbons within the research report, when you sign to confirm that the date you give me can be used within the report this includes images. In order to keep a record of the interviews we would like to tape the discussion and have transcribed into text. I will then analyse the information and feed it into our results. At the end of the study all the tapes, transcripts and any other information collected will be destroyed. The tape and transcript will only be handled by me, in line with data protection principles and our approved research protocol. Hard copies of research notes are kept in locked cabinets, and electronic files are kept on password protected computers which are not accessible to any other person. The main cost to you will be the time needed to be interviewed I am confident that the arrangements described above will prevent any of your information being shared with anyone. For this reason, we believe that the risk of detriment is very low.I hope that you will find participation interesting and when the project is complete I will return and get back in contact with you about my findings as this may improve your branding strategy for the future. The results will be used as part of my university assessed work, a research report called Authenticity of the Unknown about Subcultures, Brands and the Market. It will be read by my tutors and be made available to the external examiner, who is an academic from another university. If you would like any more information do not hesitate in contacting: authenticityoftheunknown@hotmail.com

MANY THANKS Sinead Gibbons

Ethical Consent for Appendix 1- Questionnaire The following paragraph was put at the top of the questionnaire before the respondent could answer the questions through the online website, quicksurveys.com I am researching into Subcultures, Branding and Targeting Youth, and as part of the academic report that I will produce, I am interested in your views about Subcultures, Tribes and Brands. Any responses and the information that you provide will be collated with others and analysed, responses will not be reproduced for any other purpose. The information provided will be treated in strictest confidence and you will not be individually identified in any presentations of the results. Responses will not be reproduced for any other purpose. You may withdraw from the survey at any time. If you would like any further information regarding the nature of this survey, please do not hesitate to ask questions. Email: authenticityoftheunknown@hotmail.com All questionnaires will be kept in accordance with the Data Protection Act and destroyed at the end of the project.

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Ethical Consent for Appendix 2- Daniel Dobson Interview

Ethical Consent for Appendix 3- George P. Post

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Ethical Consent for Appendix 4- Wristbands After Respondents emailed their answer they were sent a return email: Dear Respondent, Thank you for emailing back hope you enjoyed your night. I am researching into Subcultures, Branding and Targeting Youth, and as part of the academic report that I will produce, I am interested in your views about Subcultures, Tribes and Brands. Any responses and the information that you provide and email to me will be collated with others and analysed, responses will not be reproduced for any other purpose. The information provided will be treated in strictest confidence and you will not be individually identified in any presentations of the results. Responses will not be reproduced for any other purpose. You may withdraw from the wristband survey at any time. If you would like any further information regarding the nature of this survey, please do not hesitate to ask questions. Email: authenticityoftheunknown@hotmail.com All responses will be kept in accordance with the Data Protection Act and destroyed at the end of the project.

Ethical Consent for Appendix 5- Paul Dailey

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Ethical Consent for Appendix 6- Ged Gibbons

Ethical Consent for Appendix 7- Nick Baker

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Ethical Consent for Appendix 8- Nathaniel Coltrane Wilson I am Sinead Gibbons and as part of my final year of University I am undertaking research into Subcultures, Trends, Independent Clothing Brands and the current market. To enable me to answer my research questions I wish to talk to you about Subcultures and what attracts you to brands within the current youth market. The interview will be a focussed discussion and will take approximately 20 minutes. It will concentrate on the following: Subcultures, Lifestyles, Independent Clothing Brands, Spending Habits, The youth market. The interview will be taped, photographed and transcribed, and should you want a copy of the transcription then please ask me and I will arrange for one to be sent to you. The information you give me will be used in support of my work and will be written up in my research project. Anything you say will be treated with the strictest confidence and your contribution to the discussion will not be attributed to you as an individual, what you said will be used for illustration only; to reinforce a point that I am making. The tapes will be kept in a locked room and the transcripts on a password protected computer. Both will be destroyed once I have completed my degree and graduated. Many Thanks Sinead Gibbons

Ethical Consent for Appendix 9- Focus Group Nottingham Trent University School of Art and Design I am Sinead Gibbons and as part of my final year of University I am undertaking research into Subcultures, Trends, Independent Clothing Brands and the current market. To enable me to answer my research questions I wish to talk to you about Subcultures and what attracts you to brands within the current youth market. The focus group will be a focussed discussion and will take approximately 30 minutes. It will concentrate on the following: Subcultures, Lifestyles, Independent Clothing Brands, Spending Habits, The youth market. The focus group will be taped, photographed and transcribed, and should you want a copy of the transcription then please ask me and I will arrange for one to be sent to you. The information you give me will be used in support of my work and will be written up in my research project. Anything you say will be treated with the strictest confidence and your contribution to the discussion will not be attributed to you as an individual, what you said will be used for illustration only; to reinforce a point that I am making. The tapes will be kept in a locked room and the transcripts on a password protected computer. Both will be destroyed once I have completed my degree and graduated. Many Thanks Sinead Gibbons

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Ethical Consent for Appendix 11- Day in the life packs

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Ethical Consent for Appendix 12- Less Clothing

Ethical Consent for Appendix 13- Ronojoy Dam

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Ethical Consent for Appendix 14- Skull and bones boys club

Ethical Consent for Appendix 15- Berghain Interviews

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Ethical Consent for Appendix 16- Sedge Beswick

Ethical Consent for Appendix 17- Bassic Clothing

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Ethical Consent for Appendix 18- Stickers Dear Respondent, Thank you for emailing back to the stickers, I am researching into Subcultures, Branding and Targeting Youth, and as part of the academic report that I will produce, I am interested in your views about Subcultures, Tribes and Brands. Any responses and the information that you provide and email to me will be collated with others and analysed, responses will not be reproduced for any other purpose. The information provided will be treated in strictest confidence and you will not be individually identified in any presentations of the results. Responses will not be reproduced for any other purpose. You may withdraw from the sticker answers at any time. If you would like any further information regarding the nature of this survey, please do not hesitate to ask questions. Email: authenticityoftheunknown@hotmail.com All responses will be kept in accordance with the Data Protection Act and destroyed at the end of the project.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1- UNKNOWN, 1999. Painted World of Ariamis [Photograph]. [Online] Available at www.darksouls.w ikidot.com/painted-world-of-ariamis [accessed on 21/01/2012] Figure 2- JABELLE, K., 2011. Afghanistan: September in focus [Photograph]. [Online] Available at: www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/10/afghanistan-september-2011/100161/ [accessed on 22/01/2012] Figure 3- DIESEL NEW VOICES, 2011. To live and skate in Kabul [Photograph]. [Online] US: Diesel new voices. Available at: http:// vimeo.com/15841377 [accessed on 10/12/2012] Figure 4- WOULD, M., 2011. Afghanistan: June in focus [Photograph]. [Online] Afghanistan: Available at: http://www.theatlantic. com/infocus/2011/06/afghanistan-june-2011/100096/ [accessed on 11/12/2012] Figure 5- DIESEL NEW VOICES, 2011. To live and skate in Kabul [Photograph]. [Online] US: Diesel new voices. Available at: http:// vimeo.com/15841377 [accessed on 10/12/2012] Figure 6- UNKNOWN, 2010. Poverty in Kabul [Photograph] [Online] Available at: www.audiopleasures.blogspot.com [accessed on 01/02/2013] Figure 7- VICE MAGAZINE, 2011. Vice August Issue 2011 [Photograph] [Online] Available at: www.v ice.com [accessed on 11/12/2012] Figure 8- UNKNOWN, 2010. Kabul Poverty. [Photograph] [Online] Available at: www.nytimes.com/thedayinpictures [accessed on 11/01/2013] Figure 9- JEBERG, Y., 2011. Youth Culture [photograph] [Online] Available at: www.yougojeberg.com [accessed on 11/01/2013] Figure 10- SINEAD GIBBONS 2013. Subculture map [Medium] [own illustration] Nottingham: Sinead Gibbons Figure 11- JEBERG, Y., 2010. Swim [photograph] [Online] Available at: www.yougojeberg.com [accessed on 13/01/2013] Figure 12- SKATEISTAN, 2011. Young Boys of Afghanistan [photograph] [Online] Available at: www.skateistan.org [accessed on 12/01/2013] Figure 13- GIBBONS, S., 2013. Skateboarding Infographic. [Medium]. Own Illustration. Figure 14- UGANDA SKATEBOARD UNION, 2011. Skateboarding Community [photograph]. [Online] Available at: www.ugandaskateboardun ion.com [accessed on 21/01/2013] Figure 15- UGANDA SKATEBOARD UNION, 2011. Skateboarding Community [photograph]. [Online] Available at: www.ugandaskateboardunion.com [accessed on 02/01/2013] Figure 16- DIESEL NEW VOICES, 2011. To live and skate in Kabul [Photograph]. [Online] US: Diesel new voices. Available at: http://vimeo. com/15841377 [accessed on 10/12/2012] Figure 17- DIESEL NEW VOICES, 2011. To live and skate in Kabul [photograph]. US: Diesel new voices. Available at: http://vimeo.com/15841377 [accessed on 10/12/2012] Figure 18- DIESEL NEW VOICES, 2011. To live and skate in Kabul [photograph]. US: Diesel new voices. Available at: http://vimeo.com/15841377 [accessed on 10/12/2012] Figure 19- NEWMAN, B., 2011. ASOS X PUMA ‘OS PIXADORES’ [Photograph] [Online] Available at: http://www.pulsefilms.com/work/asos-xpuma-os-pixadores/ [accessed on 11/12/2012]

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Figure 20- NEWMAN, B., 2011. ASOS X PUMA ‘OS PIXADORES’ [Photograph] [Online] Available at: http://www.pulsefilms.com/work/asos-xpuma-os-pixadores/ [accessed on 11/12/2012] Figure 21- NEWMAN, B., 2011. ASOS X PUMA ‘OS PIXADORES’ [Photograph] [Online] Available at: http://www.pulsefilms.com/work/asos-xpuma-os-pixadores/ [accessed on 11/12/2012] Figure 22- NEWMAN, B., 2011. ASOS X PUMA ‘OS PIXADORES’ [Photograph] [Online] Available at: http://www.pulsefilms.com/work/asos-xpuma-os-pixadores/ [accessed on 11/12/2012] Figure 23- GEORGE P POST, 2011. Burning Man [photograph] [Online] Available at: http://www.burningman.com/ [accessed on 11/01/2013] Figure 24- BURNING MAN, 2010. Art Community [photograph] [online] Available at: www.blog.burningman.com [accessed on 14/01/2013] Figure 25- GEORGE P POST, 2010. Art at Burning Man [photograph] [Online] Available at: http://www.burningman.com/ [accessed on 12/01/2012] Figure 26- JEBERG, Y., 2010. Fencing [photograph] [Online] Available at: www.yougojeberg.com [accessed on 15/01/2013] Figure 27- NAZAR, A., 2011. Freedom in Kabul [photograph] [Online] Available at: http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/07/afghanistan-june-2012/100331/ [accessed on 16/01/2012] Figure 28- DIESEL NEW VOICES, 2011. To live and skate in Kabul [photograph]. US: Diesel new voices. Available at: http://vimeo.com/15841377 [accessed on 05/12/2012] Figure 29- DIESEL NEW VOICES, 2011. To live and skate in Kabul [photograph]. US: Diesel new voices. Available at: http://vimeo.com/15841377 [accessed on 21/12/2012] Figure 30- DIESEL NEW VOICES, 2011. To live and skate in Kabul [photograph]. [Online] US: Diesel new voices. Available at: http://vimeo. com/15841377 [accessed on 01/12/2012] Figure 31- DAZED DIGITAL, 2012. Diesel New Voices [photograph] [Online]. Available at: http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/8757/1/diesel-new-voices. [accessed on 31/12/2012] Figure 32- BURNING MAN, 2011. Community [photograph] [online] Available at: www.blog.burningman.com [accessed on 21/01/2013] Figure 33- POST, GP., 2010. Burning Man [photograph] [Online] Available at: http://www.burningman.com/ [accessed on 02/01/2012] Figure 34- POST, GP., 2010. Burning Man [photograph] [Online] Available at: http://www.burningman.com/ [accessed on 02/01/2012] Figure 35- UNKNOWN, 2010. Freedom in Kabul [photograph] [Online]. Available at: http://afghanistan.picturesofwar.net/ [accessed on 31/12/2012] Figure 36- AFGHANISTAN IN FOCUS, 2011. Freedom [photograph] [Online]. Available at: http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/07/afghanistan-june-2012/100331/ [accessed on 01/01/2013] Figure 37- DAZED DIGITAL, 2012. Diesel New Voices [photograph] [Online]. Available at: http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/8757/1/diesel-new-voices. [accessed on 31/12/2012] Figure 38- UNKNOWN, 2010. Indigenous Maki [Photograph] [Online]. Available at: www.v isitparaguay.net [accessed on 01/02/2013] Figure 39- DANDY, 2012. Dandy Boy [Photograph] [Online]. Available at: www.culturemas.es [accessed on 02/01/2013] Figure 40- RALPHA BICYCLES, 2012. Ralpha Community [photograph] [Online] Available at: http://www.rapha.cc/bicycle [accessed on 11/12/2012] Figure 41- DAZED DIGITAL, 2012. Diesel New Voices [photograph] [Online]. Available at: http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/8757/1/diesel-new-voices. [accessed on 26/12/2012] Figure 42- DAZED DIGITAL, 2012. Diesel New Voices [photograph] [Online]. Available at: http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/8757/1/diesel-new-voices. [accessed on 31/12/2012]

Figure 43- UNKNOWN, 2010. Freedom in Kabul [photograph] [Online]. Available at: http://afghanistan.picturesofwar.net/ [accessed on 01/12/2012] Figure 44- CARGO COLLECTIVE, 2012. The Brand Book [Photograph] [Online] Available at: www.cargocollective.com [accessed on 03/01/2013] Figure 45- CARGO COLLECTIVE, 2012. The Brand Book [Photograph] [Online] Available at: www.cargocollective.com [accessed on 03/01/2013] Figure 46- MIMM LOGO, 2012. Mimm Logo [medium] [Online]. Available at: http://www.mimm-shop.co.uk/ [accessed on 01/02/2013] Figure 47- LAZY OAF, 2013. Lazy Oaf Logo [medium] [Online]. Available at: www.lazyoaf.co.uk [accessed n 02/01/2013] Figure 48- SINEAD GIBBONS, 2013. The Art Damaged Crowd [Photograph] Nottingham: Sinead Gibbons Figure 49- SINEAD GIBBONS, 2013. The Experience Seeker [Photograph] Nottingham: Sinead Gibbons Figure 50- SINEAD GIBBONS, 2013 [Illustration] The Authentic Postcards. Nottingham: Sinead Gibbons Figure 51- SINEAD GIBBONS, 2013 [Illustration] The Authentic Website. Nottingham: Sinead Gibbons Figure 52- RESIDENT ADVISOR, 2012. The Village Underground. [photography] [Online] Available at www.residentadvisor.net [accessed on 03/02/2012]

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