Sneaker Culture in China Conformity and Social Media

Selene Song 刘薇禛平 张禹

Introduction

Sneakerheads， a subculture that emerged initially from hip-hop culture in American cities， has gone global， with a large community of sneakerheads in China.  As sociologist of popular culture， Yuniya Kawamura， stated in Sneakers： Fashion， Gender and Subculture （2016）， the growth and evolution of the sneaker subculture can be divided into three phases： the 1970s， when sneakers were identified with rappers and musicians in communities of color; the post-Jordan era in the 1980s， when high-profile NBA athletes sported colorful footwear and inspired their fans to follow their style; and the modern era when the internet was created， which supports a lively community of consumers of highly varied and stylish footwear. Kawamura finds that through time the sneaker community has shifted towards the fashion scene.

To understand the specifics of Chinese sneaker culture， I carried out a study of Chinese sneaker enthusiasts.  Multiple interviewees told me that in China， the sneakers bought most often are those that simply cost the most.  Exploring my observation based assumptions about Chinese sneaker culture， I learned that issues of conformity， the role of social media in the market， and a high tolerance for fakes characterize Chinese sneaker culture.

My research is based on in-person interviews I conducted with ten people. Their ages varied from 16 to 45 and included persons in China and from a number of countries. I created a 31-question survey which I administered over a two week period.

Conformity.

My interview data support my hypothesis that Chinese sneakerheads are strongly influenced by pressures to conform with fashion trends and one another. From the ten people I have interviewed， eight have told me they own sneakers from the Air Jordan series. More than half also own Yeezys.  Many interviewees reported that these sneakers are so popular because people nowadays want to “fit in” and be considered “cool”. A sneaker dealer （the middleman who buys in bulk for reselling） told me：

There are a lot of teens nowadays who blindly follow whatever everyone else is wearing， whether it is clothing or sneakers. Even when they seem to be interested in the culture， many end up copying each other. They think that whatever is expensive it the best.

Referring to the top sales list of the Chinese sneaker app DeWu （得物）， which includes trendy sneakers， seven out of ten interviewees said people around them owned these brands.  My interviewees frequently reported that the styles they personally favored were the popular Yeezys， AF1， AJ1， and AJ11. Only one person came up with a unique reply， claiming that he likes sports performance sneakers.    Eight out of ten interviewees said their personal preferences appeared to conform to trends， even if they preferred to think of themselves as individualistic， independent-minded consumers.

Social Media.

When asking how people decide what to wear and buy， “social media” seem to be the two words I heard most often. Unlike traditional advertisements， Instagram is where a simple post may draw lots of attention， especially considering the identity of the person who had posted it. Fashion icons or celebrities post pictures of their fashion tastes， and fans see the online images as subtle advertisements for certain products.

Recently， China has created applications like DeWu （得物） that have features similar to a social media platform， yet at the same time allows consumers to make purchases directly.  With the development of this application， a huge number of people who used to buy sneakers in stores have switched to buying online.   Half of my respondents gave DeWu as one of their references for fashion recommendations and information about sneakers from other sneaker enthusiasts.

Fakes.

With the creation of nearly almost any product， the fabrication of counterfeits is also involved， especially within the Chinese market. The mindset seems to be that since people cannot afford expensive products， rather than coming up with something original and affordable， it is quicker to copy recognized brands and sell forged items. In China， merchants have produced knockoffs relatively quickly when the sneaker culture started to emerge.

The Chinese market is full of these knockoffs. Out of ten people， only one respondent gave an answer that supported the idea of fakes by saying， “Its a normal phenomenon， because if a pair of sneakers is created well and copied well， and its also cheaper， people will definitely buy them. This helps people who want to save money or cant afford it. I find it normal and acceptable.”  Everyone else I asked holds negative thoughts.  Although one particular interviewee rejects the idea of fakes， he can find them acceptable if a person cannot financially afford a pair of sneakers they really like.  But if one can afford the real thing but chooses fakes anyways， it is unacceptable.  Everyone who finds forged sneakers unacceptable objects because fakes show “disrespect towards the designer and company”.

Conclusion

My findings and research allowed me to come to the conclusion that with cultural and societal differences， the sneaker culture in China can be very different compared to the Western sneaker culture in various aspects.  An idea I would have liked to explore further is the gender ratios and differences within aspects of the sneaker culture. This is an intriguing area to study and see what the gender difference is in the West and China and search for explanations for similarities and differences.  With the trend of women in China being more involved in the sneaker culture， I believe in the distant future the gender ratio among sneakerheads may start shifting towards an equilibrium where it reflects a 50-50 percent split.

姓名：Selene Song

學校：北京加拿大国际学校 CISB

年级： G12

社会学，一直是我比较感兴趣的领域。在写本篇研究报告前，我读了社会学学者Yuniya Kawamura的书 《Sneakers， Fashion， Gender and Subculture 》，从中我了解到了球鞋的文化、发展阶段、社会对球鞋文化的一些看法和作者的分析。我运用社会学的知识和角度，完成了这篇关于球鞋文化的研究报告。在研究中我深入了解了不同国家的球鞋文化，包括大家对假鞋、跟风、球鞋平台等的一些想法。同时，我学习到了如何成功地完成一篇研究报告。感谢加州大学伯克利分校的Brian A. Powers教授的悉心指导和SpecialA。