A Miss and a Link

KateCoe writes:

I read your mention of Hot Topic and “bottom up” fashion design. This is nothing new. Six long years ago I worked as scout for Converse. I went out with a home video camera, talked to people in surf shops, movie lines, concerts, etc. Then, I turned over the tapes, and the kids’ opinions and reactions were endlessly analyzed. And I was at the tail end of the action, as they’d been doing it for about 3 years before I got the gig.

A & F [Abercrombie & Fitch] no doubt does just the same thing. All the companies use forecasting services who scout around for coming trends that some brave soul is already wearing, and then revamp it for mass market. If you wanted to give a plug to Hot Topic, that’s nice. But this technique isn’t anything revolutionary.

Yeah, I can see that. I wouldn’t even have mentioned it except I wanted to get to the inherent contradiction in Hot Topic’s mass marketing to non-conformists. Thanks for the info.

Marek says that b!X‘s mom’s blog is “the coolest.” No argument here.

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