What is subtle merch, and why is it all over TikTok?

“Run, don’t go to Starbucks! Hide Harry’s coded cups and mugs.” @elizatolfrey(opens in new tab) It has received over 1.4 million views. The video then pans to a mug and thermos decorated with images of breakfast foods. If you’re having trouble putting the pieces together, that’s the point. It is highly personal to and often homegrown, indicating a fan’s knowledge or insider status within a particular fandom. In this case, it’s familiar to the lyrics of Styles’ song “Keep Driving”: “Maple syrup, coffee, pancakes for two, hash browns, egg yolks, I’ll always love you.” I’m singing.

It takes a deep dive into the world of style to feel that these cups have anything to do with him. But new must-have subtle merchandising videos like @elizatolfrey’s pop-ups are part of a shifting conversation about what it means to be a fan.

if you know i know

Dr. Bryony Hannell, a sociology teacher at the University of Sheffield who studies fan culture, says fan-made merchandise can convey a wide range of information to other fans, such as knowledge and interests within the fandom. explained to Additionally, creating merch fosters a deep emotional relationship between fans and “the subject of their fandom.” It’s a way for fans to express their relationship with their favorites. “When fans subtly create fan-made merchandise and gifts or sell them to other fans, they are able to communicate this personal, emotional, and embodied relationship.” , can draw a line between fans, casual audiences, non-fans and anti-fans.”

Think of it like speaking a special word shared only by those in the know. If someone recognizes a fan’s trinkets, they’ll instantly know they’re part of the club.

in her essay “Fan Labor and Feminism: Harnessing Fan Labor of Love”(opens in new tab) Fandom researcher Christina Busse writes that fannic love infuses these otherwise standard items with meaning that gives them value.

How subtle are sensitive products really?

Madison Seifer has been a Styles fan for 12 years, but it wasn’t until 2020 that she stumbled upon multi-fandom merchandise store Pressed Paper Shop to discover the nuanced fan-created merchandise.(opens in new tab) on tiktok. The 23-year-old clinical research assistant is no flashy person, and she appreciates being able to “not stand out” and wear casual goodies with her everyday attire. Among her collection are “a shirt that’s a replica of the one he wore, a sweater with lyrics on it, and a decal on my car of her two ghosts related to his song. harry stylesearrings from All by Lauren(opens in new tab) [a popular online small business that sells earrings inspired by the shop-runner’s favorite singers] It was inspired by his songs and his outfits,” Cypher told Mashable.

Styles fans aren’t the only ones getting in on the casual merch. Fan-made merchandise, which relies on a fan’s personal connection to the subject of the fandom, is key to any fandom, from Marvel to anime.

Megan Tan, a 21-year-old K-pop fan and art student in Singapore, runs Tarocoeur.(opens in new tab), a K-pop online store she promotes on Instagram and TikTok and hosts local pop-ups.She has more than 20 different samples of her K-pop groups(opens in new tab), she also takes requests for video game and anime swatches. “We take inspiration from music video lore, album concepts, lyrics, etc. and interpret them using colors, textures and vibes to capture the essence of the song, artist or character we are working with,” Tan said. I explained to Mashable.. “I had people commenting on my video saying, ‘Oh my God, but that’s what it looks like.’ [group name]That’s what I aim for when I design. ”

“Not everyone likes to carry their favorite K-pop boy around in Victorian Rocket style.”

Growing up, the only places Tan could buy merch were pirated anime and idol merch stores in malls. “I felt like the whole world didn’t need to know who I was a fan of, so I was always looking for something a little more discreet and ended up creating my own,” Tan said. “Official merchandise usually consists of various mass-produced items with logos and faces slapped on them, and everyone likes to carry their favorite K-pop boy around in Victorian rocket style.” It does not mean that.”

Hannell said that official merch clearly shows the subject of the fandom, and with the subject’s name or face at the center of the design, it acts as an advertisement for that. It’s what I call a “fandom”. This is a publicly centralized and endorsed display of fandom that literally interprets the subject matter of the fandom. Fans like his fictional nuanced collectibles are “transformation fandoms” and are only recognized as collectibles by other fans with the same level of knowledge and involvement in the fandom. Transformational fandom is anonymous, unsanctioned, and decentralized. It’s where fans get creative with their interpretations, and where community is built.

it’s not just a product

That’s not to say some artists aren’t great at selling official merchandise for their fans. Seifer is Taylor Swift’s folklore Cardigan for example. The beige cardigan, mass-produced by Swift’s team, does not have Swift’s name written anywhere and is adorned with a silver star and a patch that reads “The Folklore Album” in small print. , quickly became a popular item on SwiftTok, the side of TikTok where Swifts gather. folklore Cardigans work in a similar way to successful understated products. Those in the know are “well-informed” people, recognizing the uncharacteristic sweater and thus gaining wearer status within the Swiftie community.

of “Fans and Goods”(opens in new tab) Media researcher Avi Santo writes that the media industry has tried to define fandom solely in consumer terms, thanks to official merchandise. This is an attempt to make fandom a lifestyle that fans pay companies to have, rather than something more organic and community-based. He also argued that it was a response to an industry that tried to control what was happening. He wrote that “fans give their consumption an essentially private and personal character, removing the object of consumption from the logic of capitalist exchange.”

Fans argue that fan-made merchandise and the meaning it carries cannot be replicated by fandom teams or outsiders seeking to capitalize on fandom’s popularity.To BTS and BLACKPINK “If you don’t enjoy the music, you won’t have fun creating these designs, they won’t be authentic,” said Joanna Lee, a 19-year-old Fordham University student who sells inspired phone cases. And Sweatshirt, told Mashable.

TikTok and fan influencers

Fandom has become a lifestyle as social media has become more and more self-branding. The creator, who brands herself as a fan, posts just like any other Lifestyle her creator. In 2017, Santo warned against this. “Fandom as a lifestyle focuses not only on consumption, but also on the individual use of branded products as a form of self-expression and self-promotion to establish value in the reputation economy,” he said. put.” He goes on to say that objects such as fan-made merchandise are no longer used for curation, but rather an opportunity for “self-branding.” And no other self-branding culture is as insidious as TikTok.

“The nuanced commodities relate to core tensions within fan culture over who is considered a ‘good’ or ‘real’ fan and who is not — gender, race, sexuality, age, and divisions that are often drawn along class lines,” explained Hannell. And with a new wave of fandom on TikTok and the coincidence of the influencer his fans, these questions are at the forefront of every fan’s mind. Subtle merchandising, a fandom practice based on love for community and fan favorites, risks itself becoming a way to commoditize fandom for likes and views. This is not subtle at all.