Library Dissertation Showcase

Sell out: an investigation into the ironic relationship between elite European fashion brands and the working-classes

  • Year of Publication:
  • 2020

This study explores how certain European luxury fashion brands could be perceived as having an ironic and sometimes hypocritical relationship with the working-class style of dress. This perception has been explored more deeply through two significant case studies; which are the relationship between Burberry and the British ‘Chav culture’, and the ‘war zone’ between Dapper Dan and Gucci. Since the 1980s, Gucci and Dapper Dan have had a love-hate relationship which is based on imitation. These case studies are compared to the sociological study `University’s not for Me – I’m a Nike Person’: Urban, Working-Class Young People’s Negotiations of `Style’ which was conducted by Archer, L., Hollingworth, S and Halsall, A. in 2007. This comparison allows the reader to understand the effects of the ironic relationship between the working-class youth and the elite level of the fashion industry. In conclusion, it is evident that this relationship is having both positive and negative effects on working-class youth. On this basis, it is recommended that more people from a working-class background are employed within the exclusive levels of the fashion industry to lower the potential for class-appropriation. This may also lead to the creation of more tangible role models for working-class youth.

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