The Culture of Fashion Subcultures

Subculture Culture

Inspired by a wide range of influences, from movies, music, television and of course TikTok – to actual cultural movements of the last 50 years – subcultures in fashion have often set the trend. In an era of technology though, with Ecommerce and social media driving buying habits, the topic of fashion subcultures has really taken root.

Smart and customer centric brands and retailers are following these creative swings in consumer tastes very closely, and are using sales data, inventory management and even product planning around these specific fashion movements.

On this episode of Inside Retail, we’re joined by Robyn Smith, who was an easy guest to book, as she sits at the desk right across from Grace Hill.

Robyn is a Fashion & Retail Analyst at EDITED and she shares why every retailer needs to pay attention to subcultures.

At their core (pun intended), fashion subcultures are all about style. Whether pink or leather, or pink leather, these aesthetics form the centerpiece for the fashion movement of the moment.

In the case of Barbiecore, beyond the obvious use of color, the popularity of this subculture started with word of a big, splashy Hollywood movie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken.

Other subcultures include Tenniscore, think sweater vests and preppy looks, Emocore (dark colors, fishnets) and so as not to leave these trends for young people only, Coastal Gramdmother, which offers a Diane Keaton in a Nancy Meyers’ film vibe.

These trends go far beyond pop culture though, with assortment planners and merchandisers filling online and brick and mortar shelves with sku’s that are seen everywhere from the runway to Instagram.

Notable Quotable

“Designers are ultimately the ones that dictate a lot of trends, but I think Gen Zs and their use of social media are in quite a unique position where they’re starting to actually influence the designers, I think, because they have such power behind them…their spending power is actually $360 billion. And that’s more than double the estimate that it was made only three years ago, so they are a massive consumer to be thinking about.”

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