Daniel Samson

Here is some of the information I gathered by going around a variety of shops and asking questions, taking photos etc. Most places were okay with photos, but not all of them. I shall post that stuff later. 

American Apparel

15-20 Year Olds: 70%

Gender: Mainly Female

What sells: Bright colours, short, tight

Youth grouping: Mixed, but trendy

Size?

 

15-20 Year Olds: 40%

Gender: Mainly Male

What sells: High top Nikes mainly, bold colours

Youth grouping: Mixed, but people who are style conscious

Vans

15-20 Year Olds: 50%

Gender: Mainly Male

What sells: Authentic/Eras shoes and Illustrated T-Shirts sell well (Robert Crumb tshirt is expected to sell out quick)

Youth grouping: Skaters, College kids, Urban also

Puma

15-20 Year Olds: 35%

Gender: Mainly Male

What sells: High top shoes, not so much sports shoes

Urban and dance culture mainly

Volcom

15-20 Year Olds: 33%

Gender: Mixed

What sells: People bought a real mix of stuff, as the store manager explained it, they are the only shop in Europe, so people come from around the UK to get stuff there. The beany hats sold well.

Youth grouping: People who skate, snowboard, surf etc. Or people who want to buy into the lifestyle.

Record Shop

15-20 Year Olds: 10%

Gender: Mainly Male

What sells: Mainly sold Dubstep and Grime stuff to that age group

Youth grouping: Urban

Carrhartt

15-20 Year Olds: 25%

Gender: Mainly Male

What sells: Sold some jeans and some hats.

Youth grouping: Not sure

Kid Robot

15-20 Year Olds: 75%

Gender: Mixed

What sells: Figured sell very well, clothes not so much.

Youth grouping: Mainly skaters and creative people

King Apparel

15-20 Year Olds: 50%

Gender: All Male

What sells: Tshirts sold well, hats not so much

Youth grouping: People who like Urban culture and music

WESC

15-20 Year Olds: 60%

Gender: Mainly Male

What sells: Hoodies, Headphones and Bobble hats

Youth grouping: All over the place, but dance and urban stuff for sure.

I have been thinking and looking into a lot of aspects of city youth culture. I have been trying to take a look at the stereotypes of youth culture. One of the interesting aspects I am coming to appreciate is the huge influx of other cultures into the UK. Interestingly I have noticed things that may have started as American say and then ended up being mutated as they enter into South American culture for instance, I saw this with some of the graffiti books I have been reading. But then these visual styles come over here, continually bouncing back and forth. Of course all of this is because of the internet, being able to share styles, techniques etc quickly and easily I think has made a huge difference to how world culture develops.

This idea of global “cool” has been written about before, in a negative light here. There are indeed some interesting points to be made, it can destroy the sense of culture that a single place has. But at the same time, I think the internet promotes rapid change and evolution of ideas, because the entire thing is designed to be semi permanent in a state of flux and development. It would be interesting to see what kind of an effect the internet has on my age group, does it change the way they socialise, does it change the music they listen to, etc. I think probably Bebo is the best choice for youth social networks. Taking a look at people from certain areas of London was quite interesting.

This is quite an interesting film I watched regarding the Beautiful Losers group of artists. In it they talk about Graffiti, making, doing, being part of a culture. Running a gallery and a variety of other bits and bobs. Really worth watching. Below is the trailer.

I started writing this post a few days ago and seem to have lost the feeling and intention I had with it, but none the less I shall post what I have written already.