Part 1:In conversation with a fashion buyer, Shashwat Singhania

Breaking down the interview

In my conversation with Shashvat we discussed a variety of topics ranging from consumerism, millennial shopping culture, the future of hype culture in India and a lot more. It was a great to get the perspective of the other side. Find details of our conversation and a dive down into some of these topics.We did not only focus on topics related to the culture but we also focused on topics relating to what he does, what his company “homecourt” does and how what he does has an impact on the culture as a whole.

Shashvats opinion on Millennial fashion

Millennial hype fashion is described in three very simple but complex words by him,”is all about impulsiveness, impatience and status, which perfectly describes consumerism nowadays.” he describes it in a very short but precise way.

“We want to buy new products every week, we can't wait for the next hyped release and the second we've bought that new release we share it with our friends or strangers on social media. “ This is exactly what this culture is turning into, i completely agree with him on this, this culture is used as a way to “flex on others” and not actually appreciate the art of it.

“Millennial & hype fashion in my opinion has also become about who has more spending power, rather than actually if the customer knows anything about what they're buying or how to style it” This is the line between an influencer and a “flexor or hypebeast” Shashvat clearly described what this culture has turned into, this culture is turning into all about who has more money and who can flex more that's it.This has turned into the definition of the new age term of consumerism.

“I also feel that Millennial & hype fashion has created a much larger audience in terms of age group, demographics and gender.” Everywhere, this culture has spread all over the globe, and it is all about having more than the other, which has also changed the meaning of the culture.

Shashvats opinion on resale culture

“Hype fashion in my opinion is affordable as long as it can be bought at the retail price, that brands intend fort it to be bought at. The whole idea for brands making the products affordable even though they might really limited is so that they are easily accessible and also because people can buy it and make profits on it. It can also be said that if you don't get hyped fashion at retail prices then yes it is expensive because you would need to pay resale prices to buy it. So in short the perception that is created when buying hype or limited edition fashion is of something expensive and aspirational, otherwise why would there be as much demand for it in the first place”.

He has a very similar opinion as mine, he agrees on it being affordable at the retail price but also making it limited so that the people get to make profits out of it.

Shashvats opinion on this culture connecting people globally

“I think Hype fashion does connect people to an extent. I feel this way simply because hyped fashion is the new “status” or something aspiring that everybody wants to own. Therefore it becomes a very easy topic to interact with people on, Imagine If somebody just randomly strikes up a conversation about the sneakers you are wearing, they don't pay attention to your religion, colour, social and financial status but they only care about what you're wearing. This breaks so many barriers.

Similarly I also feel that it brings about disconnect because when we use the words “limited edition” or “exclusive” it clearly shows that everybody cant drink from the same water, only a few can. This leads to a divide in society and financial standing. Someone can own this pair because they are financially well off or have the means of getting it, whereas somebody else cannot because they don't have the financial means to own something like that. “

The culture is developing it is dynamic, which gives people more content to talk about, new things are out everyday, new shoes, new drops, which gives people meaning to talk about.

Come back next week for part 2

A big thank you for Shashvat for providing us with his opinions.Credits go to Shashvat.

Thank you,

Harsh Khubchandani

Come back for part 2, to know more about the interview