It is the era of " i "
It is the era where consumers want to brand themselves based on their personal taste and individuality instead of conforming to the social norms around them. We see it all around us - the penchant for finding and buying from more niche, non-mainstream brands, the eating at hard-to-access cafes as opposed to diners in accessible shopping malls. It's all about being different, unique. It's all about standing out from the crowd and creating and branding yourself as an individual.
Even the entrepreneurial streak we've been seeing in the past few years is somewhat a manifestation and a showcase of individuality - breaking away from the traditional conventions of being a paid employee and trading it for a more independent lifestyle of being your own boss, with less restrictions on expressing and executing one's ideas and inclinations.
Check out this article from BrandChannel
“The shift is largely about adapting to a moment in high-end fashion when personal taste and individuality—not conformity—are the ultimate badges of cool,” ~ Washington Post, June 2015
My thoughts aren't exactly in line with the entire post - it's merely a train of thought that spun into a story in my head when I read this quote in the article. Though the post suggests that this may be a reaction to growing income disparities, I feel otherwise - the rich do not bow down to societal pressure. I feel that the rich are motivated to be different, to stand out among the masses which are finding means by which to land their hands on these pieces of luxury. With such widespread use of branded goods by the middle class, luxury goods start to lose their "exclusivity factor". As such, the rich desire branded goods that are either less well-known to the layman, or pick up models that do not showcase the brand so as to not be associated with middle-class consumers who carry the brand.
And I can't help but to think about the viciousness of this cycle - how society is in a constant chase to attain the next level of social status through imitating the actions of the wealthy - first, the chase after luxury, and now, the chase for novelty.
Society seems to be advocating a change towards individuality, a shift in acceptance towards showcasing oneself, but in actual fact, this is merely a manifestation of a trend that is perpetuating in the upper class of society - a trend that middle class consumers are once again, blindly following.
