HYPEBEAT 1

The Impact of Hypebeast in Filipino

Culture and in our Society.

Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

In English 100

BY:

Caisic, Jahaziel A.(19-5996-744)

Diso, Jayson Brian J.(19-1264-890)
Mapile, Gene Lowie P.(19-5994-348)

Date:
November 13, 2019
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The Impact of Hypebeast in Filipino Culture and in our Society.

A Hypebeast is a mostly derogatory slang word for someone,

usually a man, who follows trends in fashion, particularly
streetwear, for the purpose of making a social statement.
Hypebeast defines streetwear as casual clothing with any element
of exclusivity to it. This is not what streetwear actually and
it ignores decades of complex cultural nuance. It is, however,
the definition the fashion industry would like to be most true
as they are just beginning to cash in on the high-margin items
of hoodies, tees and sneakers. Make no mistake, streetwear is
only about hoodies, tees and sneakers. The term hypebeast, which
emerged by at least 2005, is a blend of two terms: hype, or
“extravagant publicity,” here of a hip, new article of clothing
or trend, and beast, a slang term for a person who demonstrates
exceptional skill, in this case describing the hypebeast’s
enthusiasm for fashion. Early discussions of hypebeast,
including the first Urban Dictionary entry from March 2005,
associate hypebeast with late 1990s and early 2000s male
sneakerhead culture. While the website Hypebeast embraces the
term, hypebeast tends to mock someone as an attention-seeking
poseur. Ironically, and perhaps inevitably, by rejecting big
brands like Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger in favour of classic
hypebeast favorites like Supreme and Palace, these have become
big names. So, when a new range “drops”, it sets social media
alight and fans of the fashions queue through the night to get
their hands on the new lines. And, although the hypebeast
phenomenon has its origins in New York and London, it has now
spread worldwide, including to Singapore. The term was
derogatory until Kevin Ma created the sneaker blog “Hypebeast”.
Founded in 2005, it has since expanded into a world-famous hype
fashion website. Even though hypebeasts are now considered an
official fashion sect, the label still has a slight negative
connotation. Hypebeast also tends to refer to men and male
streetwear, though the website Hypebeast introduced Hypebae, a
female-driven sister site whose name features the slang term
bae, a term of endearment often applied to a significant other.
Clothing and outfits that are perceived to make someone look
like a hypebeast can be called hypebeasty. Wearing lots of
trendy clothes and brands at the same time, for instance, might
be called hypebeasty. Hypebeast can also be used as a verb.
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It can simply mean “to act like a hypebeast,” as in to purchase

a lot of expensive and popular clothing or to chase trends
aggressively. While less common, the verb to hypebeast can also
mean “to excessively promote something,” e.g. “Everyone’s
hypebeasting the new album, so I hope it’s good.” Hypebeast also
spawned hypebeastiality, a slang term for a person who is
romantically interested in hypebeast.
Filipino also describes hypebeast as jejemon, jejemon is a
Filipino person or group that they are thinking they are in high
class by wearing cheap and dirty baggy clothes and ridiculous
hats and accessories and using numbers and letters to
construct a sentence, which it is in wrong grammar.

They are also uneducated, lazy, and ridiculous people that

everyone will be annoyed and irritated due to their lifestyle,
behavior, and appearances."Hypebeasts." It is actually a digital
media and e-commerce company based in Hong Kong which promises
to find the newest and freshest sneakers and fashion. It has
become a term to call people who are into overpriced fashion.
Like these people They couldn't care less in buying stuff that
cost hundreds up to thousands of US dollars just to get limited
editions and first runs. Later on this was adopted by the
Filipino people who are rich. And then became mainstream and was
imitated by the masses who mostly can't afford to buy these
overpriced sneakers and apparel and would make do with fake
ones. Thus, they are called the PINOY HYPEBEAST. The term
hypebeast isn’t a local exclusive we own here in the
Philippines, but we have put our own spin on things.
Internationally, it is used to describe someone who is extremely
passionate about fashion and will do what they can to dress up
in the latest hype (usually in street wear). But right here at
home, that term has gotten a negative connotation. Teenagers and
kids who walk the streets and malls decked out in logo tees,
ripped jeans, masks and larger-than-life sneakers are sneered
at. They’re talked about online, called a sickness and generally
bashed for being themselves—and riding a hype that thousands of
others do. The sight on your news feed is nothing new: droves of
Manileño youth draped in class-A replicas of branded clothes —
these kids take to the streets dressed in Adidas track pants,
Bape camo, and Vans Old Skools. These masters and madams know
you see them and amp up the swagger as you whip your phone out
to post a clip of them captioned “The hypebeasts are taking over
(insert mall here)!!” The original meaning of the word was an
HYPEBEAST 3

insult towards someone who purchased expensive or branded

clothes simply because of the hype, and not because of them
liking the look or feel. Now, the term hypebeast is conflated
with anyone who has streetwear pieces in their wardrobe. This is
the image that news channels and night-time feature shows have
conjured in the minds of those uninformed of the culture. The
bad light shone on them due to the rowdiness of these youth
groups is a common source of irk among groups of like-minded
fashion junkies. How’d we get here? Just a few years ago, the
entire concept of streetwear wasn’t even that concrete. The
closest thing to its modern counterpart was sneakerheads, and
the two cultures weren’t even so intertwined yet. Streetwear
style in the earlier years was really sneaker-centric, where the
shoes were the focal point and the rest of the outfit followed.
Recent developments have shifted focus to the entire “fit”, or
outfit, which has led to more clothing brands gaining traction.
HYPEBEAST 3

It’s kinda tricky to distinguish brands simply based on whether

they are a hypebeast or “high-end” brand. Sometimes, it’s easier
to classify individual pieces into those two categories, instead
of the entire brand itself. Clothing brands have very diverse
products these days, especially luxury brands. Based on what
I’ve seen from my friends and on social media, hypebeast culture
represents teenagers who want to fit in and gain self-
confidence. Nowadays, the culture develops the perception that
when teens purchase and show off their branded, trendy
streetwear, they are “cool” and will, therefore, be accepted in
their peer groups, and in society. But I feel like fashion
companies are exploiting teens’ and young adults’ insecurities
and self-consciousness for their own profit. They keep feeding
the idea to these individuals that they will never be enough if
they don’t own their products. They keep telling them that
wearing their clothes is one of the most evident ways to make a
statement of their wealth and thus claim their rightful
prestigious spot in society. They keep reinforcing these ideas
through social media by showing that those who use their
products are those who are living the best lives, so those who
don’t have said products are missing out. This leads young
people to think that they need to own these luxury products to
be validated. Young people are especially vulnerable to this
type of distorted thinking because teens use their self-esteem
as a way of identification. When a teen commits their identity
to just one part of their life to owning luxury apparel, for
instance they will become distraught and their self-esteem will
come crashing down when the luxury apparel isn’t available to
them. They might think “I’m nothing without my New Balance
sneakers!” As luxury brands keep reinforcing this mindset, more
and more teens are insecure with what they already have and
insist that the only way to feel validated was to purchase those
items. They would beg their parents to buy it for them, even
when the product has an extreme price tag. I knew a kid (13-
year-old) who begged his mom for a supreme hoodie despite its
unbelievably high price tag, and the reason for it was to fit in
because many of his friends own supreme clothing. There’s so
much damage put into young teens’ self-esteem these days to the
point where it’s damaging to their mental health. Unfortunately,
luxury fashion brands are fully aware of this, but they only
utilize it for their own benefit for the sake of profits, while
disregarding young people’s mental health. But we can’t rely on
these companies with young people’s mental health and self-
esteem. I get it, these companies need to make money — they’re
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not therapists, after all. These teens are the ones who can help
themselves. They are the only ones who can change their own
mindsets about their identity and what being validated in
society means for them. They can’t find the answers to those
issues from hypebeast clothing. Positive Effects of Jejemon
Gives pleasure to a social group. Jejemons became a tribe, so if
you are one of them, you tend to enjoy like them. I can’t object
and I’m not against them but I know every gang or sorority
brings pleasure to anyone in a way he feels he belongs. Secret
codes. If you’re a Jejemon, you definitely know how to speak and
how to communicate with them. Only you and your folks can
understand each other pretty well. So maybe, in times of
secrecy, you can converse using your special terms. The feeling
of freedom. If you’re a proud Jejemon, it also means you don’t
care about anti-Jejemon critics. It’s a sign that you are
liberated from what others would think. Negative Effects of
Jejemon is you can forget your main language. Whatever it is,
English or Filipino, if you’re a Jejemon, you always speak with
it, so you get used to it. Your other dialects are set aside.
Oftentimes, it will let you forget the right spelling or grammar
in English or Filipino. Jologs status. (Ok Jejemons don’t freak
out) Jologs, just like Jejemon, is a term used to denote low
class group who are majority from the province towns, often
times termed as “tambay” Jologs is a label of no-care to the
world of etiquette or whatever is prim and proper for that
matter. Outcast Jejemons unfortunately are not widely accepted
in the nation so if someone sort of suspects he’s talking to
one, he won’t talk with him again or be a friend with him. A
perfect example would be what I’ve read from a site that says,
“OMG you’re a Jejemon! Bye!” Because of it, Jejemon has been a
big social issue. Difficult to read all would agree it’s
freaking hard to read Jejemon words.
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Hypebeast become popular in our country. Some people see it as

fashion and some sees it as "badoy".If you are a hypebeast the
first thing that people will say is that you are an addict or
corny, but hype beast is not what people think because some
people especially the teenager ,hypebeast for them is their
happines.According to the teen ager that Jessica Soho
interviews, if you are hypebeast you are also cool looking and
it feels like you are rich when you are a hypebeast. The common
style of hype beast is they high socks,3/4 shorts, they have
handkerchief in their forehead and so on. Untill now some people
are hypebeast, there are also old person that is
hypebeast.Hypebeast is not bad, but for me Filipino should also
use their own style of dressing so that the Filipino culture
will stay and so that the children will also know the Filipino
style like the barong for men and the Filipiñana for girls.
Also, when you are a hypebeast do good things to people so that
they don’t think bad things about hypebeast.
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WRITTEN BY FAYREN CHAERUNNISSA FOLLOW PSYCHOLOGY STUDENT

BY TRADE, WRITER FOR LIFE. FAYRENHEIT.COM
HTTPS://MEDIUM.COM/@FAYRENHEIT/A-THOUGHT-THE-IMPACT-OF-
HYPEBEAST-CULTURE-ON-SELF-ESTEEM-CBCB19B98AE4 JEJEMON
RESEARCH
Samonte, A. (n.d.). Retrieved from HTTPS://WWW.DEVIANTART.COM/DIYUBAKU/JOURNAL/JEJEMON-
RESEARCH-PAPER-BY-JOHN-ANDREW-SAMONTE-223691366

February 4, 2018 Watch 'Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho' every Sunday night on GMA Network,
hosted by award-winning Filipino broadcast journalist, Ms. Jessica Soho.

karlenohwhirl March 23, (2010) https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=jejemon

Ma, K. (2005). Hypebeast. Retrieved from
https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/hypebeast/?fbclid=IwAR2LmJMfbUb1qVG8i59APcttObM
RnJFMSL_dPCkauZpLmgs35niTmv5uVHU

L'Officiel Singapore,(03 21,2018) https://www.lofficielsingapore.com/fashion/hypebeasts-and-

their-influence-on-the-fashion-industry?fbclid=IwAR3bks-
3jIpXMWRAsOghbKFyDF3_A7I9bWLFe7D-Jk8gihdcytGGdLzG3qU