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Tasteful Work: the Emergence of an Aesthetic Category Pierre-Yann Dolbec, Concordia University, Canada

I investigate how the everyday actions carried out by a multitude of market actors lead to the emergence of a market category in the contemporary menswear market. I identify four types of institutional work—bridging work, curation work, support work, and circumscribing work—that underlie the emergence of an aesthetic category.

[to cite]: Pierre-Yann Dolbec (2017) ,"Tasteful Work: the Emergence of an Aesthetic Category", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 45, eds. Ayelet Gneezy, Vladas Griskevicius, and Patti Williams, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 590-592.

[url]: http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/1023649/volumes/v45/NA-45

[copyright notice]: This work is copyrighted by The Association for Consumer Research. For permission to copy or use this work in whole or in part, please contact the Copyright Clearance Center at http://www.copyright.com/. Tasteful Work: The Emergence of an Aesthetic Category Pierre-Yann Dolbec, Concordia University, Canada

EXTENDED ABSTRACT Method EDM is a music category that encompasses a number of differ- Luxury streetwear is part of the contemporary menswear mar- ent music styles, from tropical house to big room house (Magnetic ket. This novel market category emerged in the mid-to-late 2000s, 2015). Yoga is another example of a category composed of differ- is used by numerous legitimate publications (such as Elle, Business ent yoga styles, such as Dharma, Power, and Hot yoga (Ertimur of Fashion, WWD, and Esquire), has redefined menswear (Johnson and Coskuner-Balli 2015). The context of this study, the aesthetic 2015) and led major high fashion brands towards “a steady move category of luxury streetwear, similarly encompasses a number of … into the streetwear market” (Reeve 2012). Albeit the translation distinct styles, from street goth to goth ninja. Tastefully practicing of streetwear elements to the realm of high end fashion is nothing the styles of lumped in these categories requires an understanding new, ‘luxury streetwear’ as a category that is covered by critics, ca- of different teleoaffective structures—i.e. the set of acceptable ends, tered to by designers, for which there is a wide consumer interest, orders, uses, and emotions (Schatzki 2002)—that governs the prac- and which has a strong influence on the development of menswear is tice of taste (Arsel and Bean 2013) for each style. Yet, these different novel (Johnson 2015). music styles are lumped together under the same category label. We I used a multi-method, longitudinal data collection approach, have yet to understand how such a lumping happens, and what are combining 16 in-depth semi-structured interviews, a netnography of the implications for our understanding of category emergence. two online forums, the forums’ archives (representing 89 threads and In this brief article, I make the following theoretical contribu- 190 003 posts), the archives of related fashion forums (720 posts in tions: First, I argue that an aesthetic category is constituted of what 30 threads), as well as archival data in the form of magazines and I term “distinct-yet-related” taste regimes. These regimes are dis- newspaper articles (590 articles), as well as material from category tinct as they are orchestrated by different teleoaffective structures, actors such as blog posts (115 pages). but related as they share a number of objects, doings, and meanings. My findings emerged from an iterative process moving back- Second, I propose four types of institutional work—circumscribing, and-forth between data collection, data analysis, and theorization bridging, curation, and support—that lead to the lumping of distinct- (Spiggle 1994). As my work progressed, I started to focus on the yet-related taste regimes under the same aesthetic category. emergence of the luxury streetwear category. I coded each type of Studying how categories emerge is important as categories are data in light of my emergent findings to answer my research ques- structuring devices that help orchestrate markets and direct mar- tions, using an institutional approach to categorization as my en- ket actors’ perception, attention, and efforts (Verge and Wry 2014). abling theory. When actors evaluate music artists, yoga studios, and fashion products, they refer to these categories as a basis for their evaluation Institutional Work and the Creation of New Aesthetic (Zuckerman 1999). I draw from institutional theory and a practice- Market Categories based approach to taste, to explain how this happens. Albeit space restriction precludes a thorough analysis of this. Taste is central to this research in two ways: first, it is a well- The perceived lack of differences between these two looks for regime known boundary-making mechanism which is important because outsiders serves well to illustrate the distinct-yet-related aspect of actors use such “conceptual distinctions… to categorize objects, these regimes. Although similar to regime outsiders, these two looks people, practices” (Lamont and Molnár 2002, 168). Consequently, showcase the following differences for regime insiders. On the left, examining new tasteful arrangements should offer cues about the we have a consumer wearing a number of brands orchestrated by the emergence of boundaries associated with these. Second, taste is at goth ninja regime, mostly Rick Owens (the jacket, shorts, and sneak- the center of the evaluation of products in aesthetic markets (Entwis- ers). On the right, we have a consumer wearing a mixture of high tle 2009; Khaire 2014). I use Arsel and Bean’s (2013) practice-based fashion brands associated with the street goth regime such as Py- conceptualization of taste. Arsel and Bean (2013, 900) theorize that rex (the shorts), streetwear brand such as Supreme (the hoodie) and the practice of taste is orchestrated by taste regimes, “discursively mainstream sportswear brands such as Nike (the sneakers). Although constructed normative systems that orchestrate the aesthetics of prac- divergent, both of these looks highlight similar objects, such as the tice in a culture of consumption.” I take as a starting theoretical point heavy reliance on the color black and drop-crotch shorts, as well as that in markets driven by taste, the (cultural) codes on which the doings, such as the use of leggings underneath the shorts. Next, I understanding of categories relies (Glynn and Navis 2013) are tightly show how four types of institutional work lead to the lumping of linked with the objects, doings, and meanings that are orchestrated distinct-yet-related taste regimes under the same aesthetic category. by such normative systems. I combine this practice-based conceptualization of taste with the Circumscribing Work concept of institutional work. Institutional work are the actions that Circumscribing work represents the efforts of actors that leads create, maintain or disrupt the practices, understandings, and rules to the lumping of distinct-yet-related taste regimes under the same sustaining markets (Dolbec and Fischer 2015, based on Lawrence category. First, some of the media and market-knowledge generating and Suddaby 2006). The types of institutional work I introduce are firms lack a proper understanding of the specificities of each regimes part of the everyday routines of actors in the fashion market. The ac- and as a result lump them as one of the same, thereby subsuming the cumulation of actions resulting from these four types of institutional regimes’ differences and facilitating the creation of the category. PR work from a multitude of actors leads over time to the emergence executives Ella Dror and Ashley Smith, who represent some luxury of a category. I now introduce the context of this study and briefly streetwear brands, emphasize this point when they mention that “dif- describe my methodology. ferent ‘areas’ [of fashion]… are sometimes lazily grouped together jointly … within fashion media” although there is “there’s an important distinction to make between” them (Johnson 2015).

For example, Esquire magazine (Deleon 2015) introduce “17 serve as a mechanism for established but outsider producers to enter luxury sneakers brands” and presents the Adidas Y-3 ‘Qasa’ sneakers the emergent category, and extend the reach of the category. with a description mentioning “goth ninja [as] the go-to descriptor of all things dark, designer, and drapey”, while the shoe is mentioned Curation Work only 10 times during the last 10 years on the web forum at the center Curation work entails the selection and interpretation of ele- of this taste regime, but is part of adjacent regimes (health goth and ments of regimes as well as their representation through discourses street goth). The representation of these objects and some doings as and images. This facilitates the creation of linkages between ele- being part of the same category to less informed consumers. ments of distinct-yet-related taste regimes and signals to a non-re- A second insight is that some of these actors who are well- gime-specific audience that the elements of these regimes belong to aware of the differences between these distinct taste regimes will- the same aesthetic category. Examples of this are found in lookbooks ingly decide to simplify their complexities and differences and and editorials of retailers, which both represent objects of distinct- choose to group them as a whole to facilitate their news narrative. yet-related regimes together and provide scripts for “grooming For example, Jon Caramanica (2015), of the New York Times “Criti- rituals” (McCracken 1986). This curation also happens through the cal Shopper” column, clumps together brands such as Givenchy, Raf brands and designers a retailer chooses to sell. Retailers that span a Simons, Rick Owens, and Hood by Air, to explain how “the gulf number of regimes help in bringing these regimes together by of- between luxury fashion and street wear has largely disappeared.” fering a selection of brands that span the regimes of an emerging For consumers, constantly seeing these brands grouped together by category. For example, SSENSE, a “store and e-store’s menswear knowledgeable critics and showcased with pictures of highly similar [which] buy is focused on ... luxury streetwear” (BOF 2015), distrib- outfits can orient their sensemaking efforts towards grouping these utes brands that are elements of the goth ninja regime such as Ann elements as part of one and the same. Together, these two processes Demeulemeester and Rick Owens, and brands that are elements of lead to the conflation of multiple distinct regimes that might look the the street goth regime such as YEEZY, Hood by Air, and Off-White. same to regime outsiders into a single category. I next explain three They also represent them together, visually fostering linkages be- types of institutional work that facilitate circumscribing work and tween these regimes. Lastly, I discuss support work and how these lead to the emergence of an aesthetic category. facilitates the establishment of convergent elements and sensemaking efforts from external audiences. Bridging Work Bridging work refers to the bridging of two or more existing Support Work market categories by products or market actors. It has been recog- Support work represents the everyday efforts of actors towards nized that category hybridization is often the starting point of a cate- the offer of knowledge and advice around elements of a regime and gory (e.g. Jensen 2010). The name of the novel category under study, the tasteful performance of the taste regime. Support work is not ‘luxury streetwear’, emphasizes this hybridization between luxury equal for all objects, doings, and meanings and acts as an indicator menswear and streetwear. of the centrality of these elements within a regime, allowing actors In my context, Rick Owens, and especially his “Dunks” shoes, from the media and market-knowledge generating firms to make represents an early example of such bridging work. Released in sense of emerging regimes more easily. An example of this is the 2008, these shoes have become a staple of the closet of multiple amount of attention given to certain brands cited and talked about on regimes under the ‘luxury streetwear’ category. Pictured in Figure regime-centric web forums. How over time the online conversations 1, they exemplify well bridging work: they are at the junction of crystallized four brands which were the most important ones for the the sportswear, streetwear, and high-end menswear categories. The regime. sportswear influences are present as the shoe was intended ashis When major publications such as the New York Times cover the “own parody combining Puma, Nike, and Adidas motifs” (Owens in emergence of the ‘luxury streetwear’ category, they leverage what is Wallace 2015). The proximity was such that Nike sued Rick Owens the most accessible elements of a regime which then become central (Wallace 2015). The streetwear influences are found within the Rick key elements of the emerging aesthetic category. For example, an Owens aesthetic language, with machine-wash leathers, “elegant… article in GQ mentions that “Demeulemeester’s dark designs have a goth…street” (Colapinton 2008) which at the start of his career was diehard cult following, especially amongst fashion heads who lean “real popular with rockers” (Courtney Love in Colapinto 2008). towards the Internet-dubbed “goth ninja” aesthetic” (Deleon 2013). Finally, these shoes are well-embedded within high-end fashion as Other consumer-driven content pieces use the most-mentioned they were, according the fashion director at Barneys, “perfectly Bar- brands of these web forums as well as the pictures posted on these neys [and] appeals to a luxury customer” (Colapinton 2008). Fol- online communities. For example, the “Goth Ninja RPG Strategy lowing the emergence of the luxury streetwear category, Rick Owens Guide Part I” thread on the widely forum Reddit took “most of the became “fashion’s most imitated designer” (La Ferla 2009). pictures … from the Stylezeitgeist WAYWT thread” as examples Bridging work also contributes to the category’s evolution by (GarvinCadalence). facilitating its expansion and encouraging the solidification of the links between elements of distinct-yet-related regimes. An example Discussion: Categories and Market-Level Changes of this is the collaborations between designers and accessible fashion Research on markets either has assumed that marketers worked brands. Through collaborations, brands and designers come together towards the creation of whole markets, as exemplified by the follow- and propose products that fit within the emergent aesthetic category. ing quotes of articles within that research stream: “brand-mediation These collaborations are intended to target non-regime-specific con- market creation process” (Giesler 2012, 56) and “the emergence of sumers, such as “the Adidas consumer” (Mellery-Pratt 2015), rather a new market within the motorcycle industry” (Martin and Schouten than regime insiders, extending the reach of the emerging category. 2014, 855), or has yet to conceptually distinguish between markets Examples abound: Rick Owens and Adidas, Undercover and Nike and categories. 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