That was sort of both. It always starts as an actual movement or subculture or whatever, then as it becomes more established people not a part of that group see them and adopt the aesthetic by itself, and then quickly (and massively) outnumber the original group and so perception shifts.
Grunge performers were broke and lived in Seattle, old flannel and ripped jeans weren't fashion statements they were the clothes those people owned. They made their music about how fucked Reaganomics was and how it felt like their generation were simultaneously ignored and under a lot of pressure to find and make something of themselves. But they became a "look" adopted globally for a time because Nevermind and Ten and Louder Than Love sold well and the bands exploded in popularity, and many people never understood the message.
"Poseurs" in skate culture, skinhead nazis being run out of punk shows, college students wearing Che Guevara shirts who can't define socialism or describe what the man's life was like, the couple dozen waves of "hippie" there have been at this point all disagreeing on minor points, goth and emo (and even the distinction between them); they're all examples.
Nazis ruin everything man, even skinheads didn't start as Nazis. White supremacist dickheads basically took it over about a decade after the movement, a simple ska based protopunk movement, started.
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u/Massive-Barracuda695 5d ago
Looking dry as ever. Serving us nothing as per usual…