The clothing you wear, the decal on your car, the backpack you wear to school. All of them are a way for people to express their interests, hobbies, desires or passions … and I was/am no different 🙂 Brand affiliation has been a way for me to identify myself in public subtly.
There are a couple brands I have had loyalty to for years. Being in a seaside surf town, majority of folks wore Billabong, Quicksilver and Island Style, again I was no different. All awesome brands which resonated with surfers and beach goers due to the availability and popularity. There were surf shops on multiple corners which made it a logical choice, but it also matched my lifestyle and associations. However, in my teenage years there were two brands which I wore daily, repetitively and even if dirty … Fox Racing and Oakley.
Exclusivity drives desire, and both of these brands were really hard to come by in South Africa in the 90’s. Oakley apparel was almost exclusive to only sponsored athletes and Fox had very little merchandise outside of their motocross gear. If you saw someone in public with one of these items immediately identified them to that specific association. These days it’s a little harder, the truck with an independent sticker has probably never skateboarded. The school kid with the Guns N Roses hoodie has never heard Use your Illusion … conversely, I love seeing people wearing brands which I don’t recognize or have the ability to associate to. Having to closer look, read or search is a part of lore behind brand associations. Some may call this being a poser.
After a quick search it seems there are other more current terms :
- Hypebeast: People who chase trending fashion and expensive logos without knowing the history.
- Brand victim: A person who lets companies trick them into wearing logos for free.
I don’t believe in the negativity of the word poser. Posers simply have the desire to be someone, or want a certain ability that they currently don’t have. What I like about posers is they are not afraid of showing who they want or wish to be …
Jeep with fox logo
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