Branded clothing plays a major role in street culture. Expensive clothing has a status-enhancing effect, and a fashionable street outfit is becoming increasingly expensive. Young people want to wear this type of clothing but cannot always afford it. To pay for it, some tend to crime. Shop owners with expensive branded clothes are not only victims of simple theft but also of armed robberies, burglaries and rip deals. Robby Roks, Associate Professor of Criminology at Erasmus School of Law, emphasizes the role model function that rappers, Youtubers, athletes, and others have in the context of luxury clothing in Dutch newspaper De Limburger.
According to Roks, a clear trend in street culture can be observed: “On the street, there is a market for this kind of clothing, and it is, obviously, not about buyers asking for a receipt. The same was true in the past, but today's street outfit is way more expensive than before. Years ago, a street outfit consisted of a tracksuit or wide-fitted clothes and an expensive necklace, now I see a lot of tight pants and shirts, and jackets with big brand logos.”
Rappers are often pointed to as those who glorify the status of expensive branded clothing, but Roks sees many more role models who have a part to play in promoting luxury goods: “Rappers always get pointed at in this context, but it ranges from YouTubers to athletes. Some YouTubers go out into the streets and ask people passing them by about the value of their outfits. You can see that the price tag strikes a chord among young people. Others post a video about spending 2000 euros at a luxurious warehouse. That flashy spending is, of course, only possible for a lucky few. But street culture is also about keeping up a certain appearance.”
The very importance of keeping up that appearance can lead to criminality to get hold of those expensive items, Roks continues: “Not many people have such deep pockets. They then must find a way to finance such a life. And in this position, especially young people become more susceptible to storing a suspicious package for someone or taking something away for someone else. Or maybe they will commit a robbery or burglary to get those clothes. I dare not say whether that happens more now than for example five years ago, but clothing clearly serves as interesting loot.”
The Associate Professor of Criminology at Erasmus University would rather see Youtubers, rappers, and athletes use their platform to set a good example for the youth. “Those people should: first make sure your family is well taken care of, make sure you save money. But instead, they waste money and take young people with them. Everything to be seen. That is the saddest part of the story”, Roks concludes.
- Associate professor
- More information
Click here for the entire article from De Limburger (in Dutch).
- Related content
