H&M just released a Bring Me The Horizon sweatshirt and the metalcore community has gone mad. The chain store purchased a license to the design, but question is: "Is it legit to extract a style from a sub-culture and pop it into the mainstream?"
This already happened with bands like The Who, Nirvana, The Ramones or Iron Maiden. The owner of the trademark and designs is free to sell licenses for production, something similar occurs with Football clubs, Star Wars and any Disney Movie.
What happens when a trademark is more than a simple logo and represents a whole culture and lifestyle? People get angry. Not everybody agrees with the ethos of companies like H&M. Lately Thrasher Magazine owner talked about Rihanna or Justin Bieber wearing their t-shirts. (Read Here). "We don't want fucking clowns wearing our apparel"
People is dumb enough to buy and wear something they don't mean. The cool thing about being part of a not-mainstream culture is to relate a way of dressing with an alternative lifestyle, something real.
Thousands of sweatshirts are going to be sold in H&M, and in the end no one will ever care. You'll walk by someone you think is into BMTH, but sadly is listening to Drake's latest album on spotify.
Would you buy merchandise in H&M?
Definitely No. But you can get some #AmericanSocks instead!
Here's the link to the H&M ONLINE SHOP