GQ: "The END of Merch" & Why it Isn't | BusinessCasual. 

i want my clothing to represent me - and i think music and other pop culture i like is a way more reflective as me as a person than showing you which brand of clothing i buy.

Every time I see Jerry Lorenzo I just think how much I blame him for the whole “wear a band t shirt for the aesthetic” bs he started

I came up in the emo, pop punk, and metal scene. I have a lot of merch from those days in school, and while I'm a suit and tie kind of guy these days, I still wouldn't get rid of my merch. I feel like this guy is just talking about the fact that a few years ago, everyone was wearing merch for 90s hip hop and alternative rock artists. That might be dead, but people will always buy merch to support their favorite creatives. It's just that half the people wearing merch a few years ago were wearing them bc it was a trend rather than because they cared about the artist. Now the trend in street is a bit less street. Baggy jeans with collared shirts and sambas, and trend hoppers are on that now instead of merch. Hell, I still buy to support my faves, I just buy records now instead of shirts.

My problem with most graphic/merch tees is how it just doesn't fit into many outfits, it becomes the biggest statement piece of what you're wearing. I find that the more subdued or visually simple the graphic is, the more I can incorporate it into different outfits. That isn't to say minimalism is the future, but I think thoughtful design should always trump over the usual overly-stimulating, "slapped-on" designs that every company seems to gravitate toward. For example, a nice, visually appealing logo that's spelled out right at chest level is going to look better than some HUGE graphic that covers the entire length of the front of the shirt, or worse, the front AND back AND sleeves of the shirt.

I found a original vintage Grateful Dead t-shirt, and is very happy.

Westside Gunn is one of the few that actually does good merch. (For the most part)

Golden age of merch quality is pretty dead. Saw Metallica live, and the merch was garbage it was a thin as one-ply tolet paper and screen print design looked it was going to fade out after one wash. It doesn't help that the t-shirt costs 60 dollars. I'm sure they probably have a contract with a manufacturer and the big venues take a cut but to me it just seems like they don't care about their fans. There's better t-shirts coming from lesser known bands.

Just because your love for it died, doesn't always mean the whole industry died too. But then again, that kind of article would make the word Gee Que be written on a lot of videos titles.

Mate, u r on ball. Love the show.

Support your local and independent band by buying their merch

Represent, a huge brand globally but from Manchester in England, have released some £200 hoodies with Metallica, I have one of the hoodies, it’s hella comfy.

This is a wonderful observation 7.41 minutes and I couldn't agree more. You are spot on and I think this shift represents a great opportunity for original design and enhance community engagement.

Gotta love going to a gig, getting a shirt, and never listening to wtf those fairies at GQ say.

The only merch I'm still wearing is The fear of God Jerseys, The fear of God Coach jackets, two band tees Linkin Park & AC/DC, two kith t-shirts and everything else essentials. if people are still raving about vintage, you got a whole closet of stuff that was released 7 years ago there's your vintage 🤦🏻

I stopped wearing band shirts when I was in my 20's. Eventually it just looked juvenile. People started wearing it as a fashion. Girls saw Black Mirror and bought NIN shirts because a celeb wore it, or the joke of 20 somethings wearing Nirvana band shirts. It's obvious most of these kids never listened to it. The. I do buy artistic shirts for toy brands and shoes I grew up with.

Great 🔌 for @MKBHD, Reggie 👉🏾👌🏾👍🏾

I definitely feel more than ever I want to wear my older merch with pride. To me if I can work it in with my current style, enjoy it as a memento and show my love for a specific sub culture, all the better. I havent taken my recent Gantz x Sugarpunch x Sabukaru hoodie off, why? Because Gantz isnt well known anymore by the wider audience, even in the anime space. Gantz gets no merch. Gantz was cool and something I enjoyed reading and wearing it I get to hopefully spark someone else to read it or remember their love of it. I appreciate this video Reggie, to say merch is dead to me is downright wrong, like everything its a cycle. These same 'merch is dead' camp folk will be paying 3x the price these shirts originally cost in 15 years when it becomes cool to wear them again, probably with a pair of skinny jeans too.

"MERCH CAN NEVER DEAD", a T-shirt, is a staple. All humans must wear a T-shirt, that T-shirt can be plain or have something printed on it. Do you see anyone walking around shirtless? A printed t-shirt or a plain t-shirt is an expression of oneself. You can wear a plain pink T-shirt to support Breast Cancer. You can print a trendy Breast Cancer design on that same plain T-shirt. Someone can retail that same printed pink Breast Cancer t-shirt and call it "Merch". In a nutshell, "Merch" is what you make it. It can never die. "Merch" is whatever the creator and consumer decide what it is.

So, is this a precursor to the upcoming Reggie Casual merch. launch.........perchance?

You’re right

Merchandise at a concert/event memento will never die, as it exists solely to commemorate and survive the event you attended. However, the trend of off-the-rack merchandise has definitely declined, and all these sade tees are turning into the new softboy staple.

Hey

1 of 1 clothing store … come by.

Aka what Peggy Gou just did for her world tour

Seems the Church of Merch has entered its Protestant revolution. 🤔

Why do you need someone else to say what you like to wear,wear what you like and think is cool,pop culture will never go out

They pricing normal people out. Simple

I don't want content creator merch because the advertisement of it just comes off disingenuous and greedy for creators who are already wildly rich. You using Peter McKinnon and Mr Beast to make your point made me laugh because those types of creators are the exact ones who leave the worst taste in my mouth. As a photographer I have some respect for Peter but how he has commodified his online presence has taken all personality out of his content. I'll have to go read the GQ article to get full context of the discussion but I honestly kind of agree with the general sentiment as far as clothing merch goes.

M E R C H B O I S

Kanye’s vultures merch is meaningless garbage.