I don't necessarily think there's anything unsettling about it. I mean, yes, empty authenticity - there is a sad aspect to that, I guess. People keying in on an idea of a look that was hand-created independently on the fly, and their natural response is not "how can I be creative in my style, like that?" but - "where can I buy it?"
But it is a natural response. The whole world can't be D.I.Y. (or more to the point, it isn't so inclined).
Corporations, these weird bulbous superorganisms of not hive-mind, so much, but hive-instinct - jostle each other and browse and feed on the weaving fields of arms extended, tendering excess capital. These enormous beasts gorm on the sweet green, and excrete the stuff of fashion to meet the need, for that sea of clutching hands.
It's not that these giant beasts know us so well, I don't think. I think it's darwinian trial-and-error. Infinite s*** has been thrown at an infinite wall, and what sticks is only what ended up selling. Ultimately, it was the people who decided.
But the system has a flaw - the people can only decide between what's offered, and eventually it fails to satisfy. The sameness cloys. So, scenting ennui in its sessile flock, the aggregate eyes of the ever-hungry shepherd-beast look again out, further out, further afield.
Spot something original.
And gobble it up!
Digest and replicate.
Take it in.
Churn it out.
Become "Where can I buy that?"
But it is a natural response. The whole world can't be D.I.Y. (or more to the point, it isn't so inclined).
Corporations, these weird bulbous superorganisms of not hive-mind, so much, but hive-instinct - jostle each other and browse and feed on the weaving fields of arms extended, tendering excess capital. These enormous beasts gorm on the sweet green, and excrete the stuff of fashion to meet the need, for that sea of clutching hands.
It's not that these giant beasts know us so well, I don't think. I think it's darwinian trial-and-error. Infinite s*** has been thrown at an infinite wall, and what sticks is only what ended up selling. Ultimately, it was the people who decided.
But the system has a flaw - the people can only decide between what's offered, and eventually it fails to satisfy. The sameness cloys. So, scenting ennui in its sessile flock, the aggregate eyes of the ever-hungry shepherd-beast look again out, further out, further afield.
Spot something original.
And gobble it up!
Digest and replicate.
Take it in.
Churn it out.
Become "Where can I buy that?"
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