by Lesley Scott, Editor in Chief, Tribal Runway

What are the Fashion Tribes?

You’re into leather rather than lace, or perhaps DIY is more your bag. Perhaps you’re of the mind that chic should come with a conscience, or maybe you’re an avowed accessories queen or an unapologetic shopaholic. Fashion and fashionistas are deliciously diverse, but mainstream fashion publishing just isn’t.  So often magazines feel like one-size-fits-all…because they are. Should your tastes happen to fall in the mythical holy grail of 18-45 year old $X income women who spend their time doing X, then you’re in luck - the entire newstand is tailor-made for you.

Magazines continue to dogfight over this single demographic without ever acknowledging that age and income are no longer what separate - or unify - us.

In shooting monthly streetfashion as part of a coolhunting gig in NYC in the 90s, I first realized that the way you dress speaks volumes about who you are, what you enjoy doing, and even where you like to spend your off-duty hours (and money). In other words, fashion was about who you associated with, either in day-today- life or aspirationally, hence the term fashion tribes”; you could be 18, or you could be 65 - if you’re both into Marni, love Balenciaga bags and knitting, you automatically have much more in common that another random person who just happens to fall within your same age demographic. And as I would edit hundreds upon hundreds of hundreds of runway photos each season, I realized that there were actually fabulous fashion options for each of the tribes - which of course were nowhere to be found in your typical magazine catering to the fashion-obsessed - leading me to ask: Wouldn’t it be fab to have all these customized options presented in a fun and engaging way, in a single place?

Welcome to Tribal Runway, where we weed through latest fashion news, analyze the trends, and bring you the content you want, without the stuff you don’t (unless you’re like yours truly and cross over from Global Chic with Afro Love leanings during the day to a Fancy Flirt in Tight Black Pants in the pm; and, when I’m in the mood to sew, a weekend DIY Downtown Doll).

How I Came up with the Idea

An extended stint as the NYC-based Senior Editor for the trendspotting firm Coolhunt included penning regular fashion, beauty and style pieces for various international publications including Marie Claire Asia, GQ Taiwan, Elle Girl Korea & Japan’s prestigious 25 Ans. One of my trendspotting duties included snapping photos of stylish people in the streets of New York & interviewing them about their personal style. Editing the photos each month, it quickly became clear that the way people dressed spoke volumes about their life.
Anyone in head-to-toe leather, pink hair & multiple piercings might live in the same geographic location as a Chanel-clad socialite with the season’s $2500 “it” bag and a social calender packed with luncheons and benefits – but they “live” in completely different cities…from the restaurants & clubs they frequent (21 Club vs. CBGBs; Schiller’s vs. Le Bernardin), to the neighborhoods where they shop (Greenpoint vs. the Upper West Side), to the types of drinks they enjoy (Pabst Blue Ribbon vs. a dry martini). Over the months, the photos seemed to organize themselves into five general categories, which I dubbed the fashion “tribes”. And with each month that passed, I would excitedly note that my tribe concept was being validated even more strongly.

At the same time, in the course of covering the runway collections and looking at the myriad fashion show photos from New York, London, Milan & Paris, I was struck by the fact that the newsstands were overflowing with magazine after magazine catering only to a single tribe, but there were actually plenty of runway looks sure to please the rest of the tribes. Why would the extreme ladylike looks that all the main magazines were promoting interest a punk-influenced, leather-wearing, music-loving hipster inhabitant of Williamsburg? The other tribes began abandoning one-size-fits all print in search of relevant content, and not surprisingly, a tidal wave of red ink continues to wash over the newsstand.

So I started the original Fashiontribes.com 5-in-1 e-zines as a way to find & filter the latest fashion news through the various tribe lenses, giving each tribe the fashion, beauty & lifestyle news they would most likely find interesting. Admirable, yes – and even critically-acclaimed – however also extremely costly, and I quickly ran out of money (with my advanced degree in shopping, this probably shouldn’t have been surprising). In order to continue publishing in some form, I started the Fashiontribes blog.

As one of the first bloggers to live-podcast New York Fashion Week and cover the runway shows as an officially-accredited member of the press, Fashiontribes has been featured in Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, Women’s Wear Daily & USA Today. By consistently doing my best to post well-written, high quality content that reflected my taste, experience & voice – rather than ill-disguised advertiser plugs or puff pieces designed to appease illiterate publishers with no respect for the written word (or the truth for that matter) – the Fashiontribes blog ended up eclipsing the original e-zines! It was even recently ranked one of the Top 20 Lifestyle blogs overall and is repeatedly voted one of the Top 10 fashion blogs!

One of the most fascinating aspects of being a part of the blogosphere has been watching it develop into a unique form of publishing. Rather than simply replicating print online, blogs have begun to transform into a distinct format built around a frequent publishing schedule with reader comments and trackbacks referenced from other blogs as a key part of the process. Yes, readers are violently opinionated about what you post – from fawning compliments to outright disgust – however they are engaged, feel heard, know your voice and trust it, and are fiercely loyal.

And we hope this experience really benefits the latest incarnation of these customized e-zines, and of course - you. So don’t hesitate to leave your feedback, email us, or me at TREditrix@gmail.com, and hopefully, tell a friend!

(images: Aishwarya Rai - pics-4-u; Olsen sister - mkashley.com; Williamsburg hipster - dobi.nu; Nan Kempner - bigshinything.com; Beyonce - Teen Vogue; fashion blogger illustration - sassybean.com)

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