![]() Though different, in all these cases the individuals are breaking accepted social rules. So, the keynote speaker at a well-known event who is clearly wearing mis-matched socks, the senior executive who shows up at work in his or her jeans, or even the person who randomly walks up to strangers in restaurants and eats food off their plate may be judged by others as having greater status than if they were to conform to the norms of appropriate conduct. Why is this the case? Nonconformity often has a social cost, so people assume people breaking the rules enjoy a powerful enough position that they are not concerned about the costs. When the deviant behavior appears to be deliberate, it can lead to higher status inferences rather than lower ones. In another study, students assigned higher status to a 45-year-old professor working at a top-tier university when he was described as wearing a t-shirt and had a beard than to a clean-shaven one wearing a tie. In our research, for example, shop assistants working in boutiques selling luxury brands in Milan assigned greater status to the woman wearing gym clothes and a jean jacket rather than to the woman properly dressed. In recent research, my Harvard Business School colleagues Silvia Bellezza and Anat Keinan and I found that under certain conditions, nonconforming behaviors, such as not following the expected dress code or the appropriate professional conduct in a given context, can signal higher status. If you are familiar with the dress code for luxury stores on the Via Monte Napoleone, you may assign her greater status than if she had been wearing a dress and a fur coat. What would you think of her, and how likely do you think she is to buy something at the store? Far from being dressed to the nines, she is wearing gym clothes and a jean jacket. During your walk, you see a woman, perhaps 35 years old, entering one of the luxury boutiques. Being familiar with the context, you dressed up for the occasion, hoping to hit a few shops. Imagine you find yourself walking down Via Monte Napoleone, in Milan, Italy, an elegant street famous for its ready-to-wear fashion and jewelry shops. Yet, as it turns out, deviating from the accepted dress code or social norms may have surprising status benefits. If one is provided, we tend to use the presentation template provided by our company, or use the language and acronyms favored to the organization so that we can better fit in. For example, we tend to dress up for job interviews, dates, and business meetings. ![]() As a result, across organizations and industries, people make a significant effort to learn and adhere to dress codes, etiquette, and other written and unwritten codes of behavior. And, take one look around sneaker boutiques like Kith or Sneakerboy these days and you’ll feel like you’re in The Shining.Early in life, we all learned that there are tangible benefits from following social rules. Last year, Timberland, the brand that lives and dies by tan, dropped an all-red version of their 6" work boot. Adidas (West’s current fashion home) now sells all-red Stan Smiths and Superstars, and you can even pick up red versions of classic Vans if you so please. Even Nike’s biggest competitors have jumped on the bandwagon. But what started as a unique twist on a classic look became a feeding frenzy among sneaker brands looking to increase their cultural cachet. And in the wake of the Red October’s release, Nike has unveiled numerous all-red sneakers to capitalize on the Yeezy 2’s success (exhibits A and B). ![]() Leading up to the release of the Air Yeezy 2, Nike dropped an all-red version of their classic Air Max 90 to fuel anticipation. Yet almost two years after the Red Octobers first debuted, red-on-red kicks have become more a scarlet letter of hype-beasting than a fresh style move. But they were also so sought after because of their eye-catching all-red colorway, a fresh take for a market dominated by white, black, and gray. That’s partly because of their association to the supernova of style influence that is Kanye West, and partly because they marked the end of his run at Nike before moving to Adidas. When the Air Yeezy 2 "Red Octobers" dropped in February 2014, they were the most highly coveted sneakers on the planet.
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