Olivia Kelly

UK Tribes

Aspirant Mainstream

Aspirant mainstream is made up of both Rahs and Trendies. They are an open-minded tribe, willing to socialise and interact with other tribes. They

attract a large amount of young girls due to its wide ranging tastes and fashion sense, as money is not a

concern, freely spending it on themselves and others. Aspirant

mainstream kids indulge in big name brands such as Topshop and

American Apparel. Magazines and billboards play a large part in

marketing both their music and fashion. However, social media is

their main source in picking up on the newest trends and celebrities are

a huge influence on the aspirant mainstream scene – jeans, bags and make-up are must have essentials

for them.

Rahs are either loved or hated by other tribes, with icons such as

Peaches Geldolf. Their often upper-class roots have been over-shadowed by the birth of cool in the past, however in

recent years it is something to now brag about. They have a

showy fashion and large, over-powering personalities. They dip in and out of both the indie and urban scene within their

large clans.

Emerging from slightly less upper-classed backgrounds,

Trendies are self-consciously fashionable. Their relatively ahead-of-the-curve fashion

is either admired and bought by others or simply loathed.

Trendies are usually overwhelmed with money,

embracing this lifestyle involves serious spending

power for their well-researched taste and

vintage clothing.

Mainstream

Mainstream has more recently become known for the likes of the Casuals, the Boy Racers

and the Sport Junkies, as more recently, Mainstream is slowly becoming one of the

less popular tribes. Rather than choosing to get along with other tribes, they are quick to judge others and criticize those who wish to stand out from the crowd, they’d rather opt for a well

known sports brand instead. Probably the best ways to appeal to a Mainstream

audience is through TV, radio and the internet, for things

such as socializing and entertainment purposes.

Townies differ to Casuals as they are more likely to be seen where other tribes may be, for instance the high street.

Casuals are more your stereotypical view, such as football and drinking. Chavs are the proudest of the lot, they enjoy their ‘tacky’ sense of fashion and their rowdy behaviour,

whereas Street Rats are the less proud tribe.

Although Ravers are the party-goers, their tribe has become more about the alternative scene. Boy Racers are ‘loud and proud’, they enjoy their fast cars and bass music,

rather similar to the likes of the Sports Junkies. Neither are afraid to let go of the

friends who ‘sell out’.

Urban

There is usually a particular pattern; the DIY-ers who create the image and the ones who buy in to the tribe like

Blingers, Get Paid Crew and Trackies. The Urban scene such as its fashion and music is usually developed into

mainstream publishing and TV, but the primary members of the tribe like to get their inspiration from their environment around them, for instance in clubs and surrounding social

network sites.

Youtube,MySpace and Facebook are

considered essential to

memebers of the Urban

tribe.

Trackies may appear

intimidating from first glance, but

their personalities tend to be much more friendly, laid-back and open minded,

they merely enjoy consuming music and film with their friends. The US scene such as its music and icons

are the main interest for the

Blingers, therefore if this means spending

money on the biggest labels, then they will,

even though they are known to be mocked for their materialistic

attitude.

The traditional working class is represented within the Urban tribe through the Get Paid Crew; their main driving force being money. DIY-ers are said to have more of an understanding of themselves

and their culture, they tend to be more independent and original with both the music

they listen to and movies they watch.

Alternative

Alternatives tend to be rebellious, often conforming with their peers, yet are open-

minded about their music interests and their fashion – they are determined to be different,

interested in Alternative brands such as Converse and Vans, also Kufiyas. Usually the tribe is made up of both working and

middle class kids, they are passionate about music and often their friendship groups, tastes

and general interests are largely defined online.

New fashion trends emerge usually from

outside the Alternative scene, regularly finding

influence from magazines and social media, however peer

influence is also important.

*Leading Edge

Geeks and Hipsters are classic hit-makers in the Leading Edge tribe. They tend to be fairly grown up, it takes time and research to grow into

an expert of the Leading Edge, often sharing this with the younger generation. They often see the wider picture and have an awareness of

cultural influence becomes apparent with age and knowledge, particularly with specific genres of music or fashion.

Leading Edge contains a small sub tribe called the Craft Kids, they are extremely

influential on fashion, food, and creativity usually

expressing their interests through their blogs and

ideas. Making and sharing is important to them, they are keen on recycling, knitwear and art, all of which making them recognisable within the

Hippy tribe.