Celebrating different cultures is an integral part of the fashion industry. However as working class styles are being adopted by designer brands, is this an act of appreciation or in reality appropriation.

From the depths of political eras such as Thatcherism, the working class have been demonised deeply within British media and society. For decades, the intense class divide in Britain has repeatedly degraded the personal style subcultures and fashion trends of the working class. We are now seeing the high end fashion industry taking predominantly proletariat clothing pieces and glamourising them into luxury designer ‘athleisure’ wear. The ‘urban’ street style of many working class communities- with much emphasis on casual, laidback items of clothing such as chunky trainers or tracksuits- has been adopted by the designer fashion industry and can be seen on runways of brands such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci or Fendi.

The working class community is showing anger towards their fashion being used as a spectacle in the high end fashion world, especially as the designer price tags are only accessible to upper class, very affluent people. The humble tracksuit can be branded as the epitome of working class fashion, but you can now find a Louis Vuitton tracksuit for a price tag upwards of £2000, with the garments being rebranded with labels such as ‘jogging trousers’ or ‘track tops’. Many debate the idea of ‘class appropriation’ within the fashion industry, and the selective nature of the sector, only choosing some working class trends that can be adapted into more upper class, high fashion pieces for a profit.

As the fashion industry is one in which privilege and knowing the right people can lead to more executive jobs in the field, there is a question of whether or not designer brands should be gentrifying working class style. If there is not enough class diversity within the industry, then should upper class brands with the likes of Gucci be taking inspiration from the lower classes as they are alienating the same communities that they are copying.

Even during the early 2000s, the high fashion industry had a complicated relationship with social class, with the high end brand Burberry being labeled as the new ‘chav uniform’ and their iconic check becoming almost synonymous with working class style. Many Burberry counterfeits were being sold on the streets to the lower classes, resulting in a decrease in Burberry’s sales, possibly because their high end fashion audience were reluctant to be associated with the ‘chav’ branding that the check was now associated with. Due to the affiliation with the lower classes, the British brand launched an entire re-branding campaign in order to directly subvert themselves from the ‘chav’ aesthetic and once again gain the brand loyalty of their upper class buyers. The brand reduced the use of the iconic Burberry check on their garments, and hired Kate Moss as the new face of the brand in 2001, employing innovation in hopes of turning the brand into that of a more aristocratic and youthful one.

The dilemma with Burberry is that they launched an entire mission into preventing their branding from being worn by (even counterfeits), or associated with the working class but are still borrowing elements of the ‘chav’ culture in their runways today. As of 2021, you can find a matching tracksuit on the Burberry website for around a £1000 price tag. Why is it acceptable for luxury fashion to borrow from working class culture, but when designer branding is adopted the other way, then a brand will make a huge attempt to distance themselves with this association?

The glamorisation and obsession with the working class culture as a spectacle to be enjoyed by upper class citizens shows a clear flaw in the fashion world, with the class appropriation surrounding the industry fetishising certain parts of working class culture, but dismissing other parts. For the fashion audience of many upper brands, a £2000 tracksuit may be a fun fashion statement to purchase and wear, but for the working class, a practical and everyday outfit that may be the only option of affordable clothing. A problem of double standards arises in the situation in which Bella Hadid can be photographed in a matching red Adidas tracksuit and considered to be the epitome of off-duty model style, but if a working class citizen is seen wearing an Adidas tracksuit they are immediately branded tasteless, ’chavvy’ or a ‘road man’.

Written by: Allie Smith