On a Chinese social network, young people are having fun highlighting the gap between the style of clothing they wear at work and what they adopt on a daily basis. A more political phenomenon than it seems.
No one is going to change the world by saying that the style of clothing we wear on the weekend or on vacation is often different from the style we wear for business. However, the topic immediately becomes more interesting when the new generation discusses it on social networks. For a few weeks now, some netizens have been having fun filming this huge style mismatch and posting it on TikTok. Built on a humorous background, these videos have amassed millions of views likes. For example, we meet a young woman posing in a satin dress and heeled boots, before filming herself in the fisherman’s overalls she wears to work during the week. The clothing contrast is also very pronounced in this guy, who seems obsessed with James Dean in jeans and leather jackets, but who, against his will, wears a gas station uniform during the week.
Exclusively on TikTok
The new trend, which doesn’t have a name yet, but features the same slogan written on all videos: Editor’s note) “This shows the multiplicity of identities we can create in social networks. You can choose a profile photo, a nickname, be whoever you want. Young people here simply refuse to go to work,” explains Tu Trinh Bouvier, a digital manager and expert on new forms of communication among Generation Z. And continues. uniform, but in another context I am very different. They show that they know how to dress very fashionably, even if their work doesn’t allow them to do it.”
the author of Are you speaking in Pic Speech? The new language of generations Y and Z (2015) add that it is not insignificant that this trend appears on TikTok and not on Instagram. “Young people have quickly adopted the codes of social networks, and this trend responds to accurate grammar. On TikTok, where everything is super fast, they will film themselves with tears, easily revealing their daily worries. Meanwhile, on Instagram, fashion is much more present, and the idea will be rather to promote yourself, to smooth your image. It’s like nothing, they choose.” For Magali Prodhomme, teacher-researcher and anthropologist, the formats and forms offered by TikTok “are much more prone to what psychiatrist Serge Tisseron calls extremes; it’s about revealing some of your privacy to the general public, and this platform helps. the acceleration of this phenomenon of destruction.”
Challenge authority
At first glance, one might believe that this new phenomenon will be lost among the “trends” that overcome the Chinese social network and appear under the exact name with the particle “core” (Burtoncore, or clothes according to it: the aesthetics of Tim Burton’s films, being the latest in fashion). : But for Magali Prodhomme, the trend goes much further. “The message is a challenge to the government. Clothes are a political symbol for young people in particular.” And continue. “It’s an archetype of what happens between young people and the world of work for a few years. The balance of power has been reversed, human resources are changing recruitment methods. Today, young people demand additional value. All this terrifies the professional world.” For the expert, the message is clear. this trend violates what should define people in the professional sphere, namely the dress code. Posting these types of videos allows Gen Z to maintain free will in a professional world filled with regulations.
This is a way of saying that we are not just a sketch, and even more so, a profession that is undervalued in society. That we also have something to say and share.
Thu Trinh-Bouvier, digital manager and expert on new forms of communication among Generation Z
Rules that young people scoff at, especially since the professions represented often require uniforms. Most users of this trend wear hospital gowns, plumber’s coveralls, coveralls… but rarely a suit and tie. “It’s also a performance that shows reality,” Tu Trinh-Bouvier explains. A way to say that we are not limited to a silhouette, and even less to a profession that is not appreciated in society, that we also have something to say, to share. It remains to be seen whether this trend will lead to a re-evaluation of the sometimes very clichéd view that the public has of the profession. Like any trend, this one has its limits. If it offers young people a space to free themselves from the demands of work, it can also normalize the importance of dress style development in the private domain. Which is obviously not an obligation for anyone.
Source: Le Figaro
