Denim Style Trends for Summer Fall ’08 for Youth Culture Markets Differ from What Some Expect in the Industry as Different Influences Price Points Determine Directions

Trends in denim preferences for this summer and fall will be greatly affected by how denim brands re-define their meaning of “premium” and adjust price points that attract the greatest percentage of targeted buyers, and what young people consider fashionable moving into the new season.

New Sports Trends Impacting Youth Culture Lifestyles Indicate Changing Marketplace Especially for Skateboarding, Rise of Fixed Gear Cycling, Aggressive Inline, Other Sporting Cultures

Two weeks ago, we were quoted in USA Today in an article that the newspaper was working on regarding a story that noted Tony Hawk was the highest recognized athlete among young people. This, to them, marked a serious change in sports. At Label Networks, we have been tracking so-called youth sports or action sports since our inception and even before that, personally, as the former senior editor of Snowboarder Magazine. In the article, I was quoted for saying that it’s “not uncommon” that action sports heroes would rank higher within certain demographics than football, basketball, and baseball players.

Japan’s Retail Warrior Uniqlo Steps-up Its Digital Shopping Integration on Its Way to Becoming”The New Gap but Different” -Label Networks Profile Data on the Store/Retailer Quantifies How Success Came to Be

It’s not unusual that the highly popular store and brand Uniqlo, originally out of Japan and now quickly taking over key cities as most-liked shopping destination among 13-30-year-olds in North America, would work fast in creating a digital lifestyle and shopping experience for the brand overall.

China Leads Trends in Producing Super Cool-Looking Credit Cards with Mini-Me Versions, Scented, Hello Kitty, Pepsi Graphics to Entice Young Shoppers

In the U.S., choosing the graphics for one’s credit card is about as boring as choosing the graphics for our checks or post office stamps. There really aren’t that many options to choose from, and perhaps because of that, we don’t always care just as long as the card as a low APR rate.

Music and What Drives Trends

As we move into summer music festival and tour season, we plan on running a series of stories that have to do with music including specific bands to note in terms of trendsetting styles and influences, and the correlations that result from music in youth culture markets in North America, Europe, Japan, and China. To start, we wanted to provide a quantitative report that shows just how powerful the correlation is between music and youth culture markets.

Alice Bands, Metallic Headbands, Feathers, Flowers Provide New Accents on Key Summer Hair Accessories for Both Genders

We first mentioned Alice bands in our European Cred Reports from last summer as the prevalence of these skinny bands, which young people in the UK call “Alice” bands” (as in Alice in Wonderland), started gaining momentum as seen on the heads of festival goers.

Online Shopping Pattern Changes among American Youth Culture Reveal New Patterns, Opportunities, Insight on Where Things are Headed Next

Despite the shape of the economy today, shopping patterns online among 13-25-year-olds in North America are on the rise among specific demographics, as revealed in Label Networks upcoming Global Youth Culture Spring Study 2008, to be released next month. In this story, we concentrate on one segment from a series of questions about online preferences, habits, and purchasing patterns based on the question, “Compared with 6 months ago, how frequently are you shopping online?”

Music Fashion and the Power of Grassroots Marketing: So Why Aren’t More Brands Using It?

Perhaps it’s a rhetorical question, but each year as we move into summer music tour season, we often ask ourselves given the importance of music in connecting with youth culture, why more brands don’t use it? Music is at the vortex of youth culture lifestyle and is the most essential culture to track in terms of reaching 13-25-year-olds globally. More than sports, fashion, TV entertainment, or technology, music is the thread that links the youth culture marketplace across all economic levels, regions, ethnicities, age groups, and genders.

Cool to Do Lo-Fi: The Resurgence of Low-Tech Clean in Upper Street Fashion Styles Stirs Outerwear Industry Back to Classics for Winter 2008-09

Coming from a winter sports background where outwear styles and textiles continue to move in more technical, waterproof directions, it was quite refreshing to come across a growing subculture in winter fashion that’s completely Lo-Fi and Low-Tech as seen for example, with the comeback of Marlene pants and revival of Woolrich Woolen Mills from various designers.

Spain”Cred-Report” Part 1 Provides Street-Level Insight on Top Fashion Accessory Trends to Expect this Season from New Bohemia to Theme Parties, Denim, Vintage, a Nod to Travel

Each year, Label Networks includes “Cred Reports” with our data analysis which provides additional qualitative research to give insight into leading-edge trends that are popular or gaining popularity in each country or specific city.