Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Hypebeast: (noun) — Someone who shows off on the internet. Typically a high fashion enthusiast, a skater, a member of vape culture, a “meme god,” or a hip-hop artist. You can probably find them on Soundcloud.
As each generation ages out of superiority, they must watch in horror as the next set shapes pop culture. Millennials are currently giving way to Gen Z, young adults somehow even more entrenched in internet culture than the Facebook generation ever was. These disillusioned teens have grown up on a steady diet of niche memes and ubiquitous celebrity culture, and it’s starting to show.
To get a glimpse of this strange new world, just watch “Cheap Thrills,” a popular YouTube series from the youth-oriented online network Super Deluxe. The internet savvy may know Super Deluxe as home to fellow Gen Z meme queen Joanne The Scammer.
In each episode of “Cheap Thrills,” host Nate Contreras, aka Tabasko Sweet, leads a trippy arts and crafts session that demonstrates how to make a specific luxury fashion item on a budget. Do you want a pair of Gucci flip flops without dropping hundreds of dollars? Just grab some shower sandals and some electrical tape and let Mr. Sweet lead you into the wild world of counterfeit streetwear.
“Cheap Thrills” never strays from this tutorial format. The show gives detailed instructions on how to create luxury pieces that almost kind of look like the original thing. But what kept me from clicking away halfway through a tutorial for a D.I.Y. hot pink fanny pack I would never wear was the show’s smart sense of place in a shifting internet landscape. Tobasko Sweet is earnest in his quest to provide affordable clout to every hypebeast and sneakerhead out there, but he’s also conscious that most people watching are not as indoctrinated into this culture as he. The show is at its best when it goes farcical: Sweet blows vape clouds onto the household materials he uses to craft his counterfeit swag. He delivers rapid fire slang in a monotonous drone that makes it sound as if he’s a professor reading these phrases for the first time. (Try to say, “it’s all about that flex, family,” with a straight face.)
In the past, the show’s creator Michaela McEttrick has refrained from categorizing her series as a parody. Rather, she has defined it as a loving satire that serves to explore the intersection of fashion and consumerism.
But this thoughtful balance between the high and low brow doesn’t matter unless young people are actually watching. Luckily, a rapidly growing number of young adults are responding to “Cheap Thrills” and other Super Deluxe programs. According to Alexandra Le Tellier, the director of PR for Super Deluxe, 45 million people between the ages of 13 and 34 tune in to the network’s content at least once a month. In less than a year, the streetwear send-up has racked up tens of millions of views on YouTube. The show’s most popular episode, “D.I.Y. Gucci Flip Flops,” has been seen over 6 million times.
Shows like “Cheap Thrills” point to a changing tide in pop culture. Young rappers with clout goggles and Thrasher hoodies currently dominate the Billboard charts. The Kardashian-West clan robe themselves in streetwear fit for a sixteen-year-old that runs an Instagram meme account. If pop culture in 2018 is a blend between aspirational luxury and jaded teenage realism, then the self-aware D.I.Y. of “Cheap Thrills” is a look into what’s current and what’s to come.
Cody Schmitz is a filmmaker living in New York City. You can find his work at: youtube.com/c/codywyatt
