Thanks thanks thanks to H___ [she shall remain anonymous!], who came all the way from Stockport to give us a 5 hour glimpse into youth fashion culture in Manchester!
On a miserable afternoon, with the steady drizzle of Manc rain creating a misty backdrop, we met H___, our American Apparel jump-suited, denim jacket-clad guide [We felt so guilty cos she was constantly shivering!], in front of Debenhams.
She took us to the Affleck's 'emporium of eclecticism'... [yeah--It's like Camden Market--in ONE building--amazing!] & told us about Manchester's; Scene kids, Dead Cools, Scallys, Ch-Indies [Chavvy-Indies for those that need a definition], Tarty Girls & it's Clones; just a few of the colourful & descriptive terms of some of the 'tribes' scouring the streets & stores, are labeled.
To be fair to H___ she didn't want to label people....it's just some phrases she used, & they were just so damned funny & vivid, so I just had to write them down. However the most striking thing she said, spoke to a natural & somewhat necessary trend of label-shedding. "No one wants to be Indie anymore...It's like an insult to be called Indie", was a comment that had much more resonance; once I processed it, after she left us, & this is what I thought.
The acceleration, adoption of trends by the high-street; Top Shop & River Island steal with pride from the catwalk--Nu-Look & Primark [should] steal [with shame] from them. Brands & marketers used to talk about cascading, but now that's transformed into a full blown avalanche! The high-street, hijacking & the subsequent ubiquity of fashion-styles, have meant some [the above-mentioned stores!] have been cashing-in on the trends. Worse still is that some, or MOST consumers, just do not think for themselves. They just buy into 'exactly what it says on the tin', or more aptly--just buy what the shop mannequin has to offer, whilst still having the audacity to claim they are trying to be individual.
Real leaders--'The Dead Cools' [at least in Manchester--the original Indies maybe?] know what's going on & have moved on, shedding the aforesaid Indie label, to stay different & unique [though I HAVE just labeled them again, sorry!]...so this post is a nod of thanks to all of those people we've met on our first day in Manchester, who respect & don't judge the Sceners, but instead celebrate their distinctiveness, with a confident swagger, a defiant shade of lipstick & an assured flick of hair.
To brands that want to become leaders, look at who you want & SHOULD follow. If you just follow transitionals & ignore the agitators, you'll have nowhere to go, because by the time you look up off your spreadsheets & realise your error, you've probably lost the 'Dead Cools' for good.
Thanks to Nouks_art for the pictures....you'll find a bigger selection of who we met on her Flickr site--hit the link!
Big thanks to the Ruby Pseudo crew for the H___ hook up!
