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The scene subculture is a youth subculture which was common in the UK, the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America from the mid 2000s until the early 2010s. It combines the fashions of emo, goth, pop punk, skater subculture, hip-hop and indie, with emphasis on androgyny and bright colors. In the recent past, teenagers and young adults involved in this style have been called "scene people," "scene kids," "trendies" or sometimes "scenesters" in the United States, "scene kids," "chemos", or "alternateens" in the UK, "coloridos", "floggers" and "pokemon" in Latin America, and "shamate" (Simplified: 杀马特) in China.
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Origins (late 1990s and early 2000s)
The scene subculture began in United Kingdom during the late 1990s and early 2000s when some members of the chav subculture began to experiment with alternative fashion, and took fashionable characteristics of indie pop, emo, rave music, and punk fashions. The fashion originally included typical pop punk and skater clothing like tripp pants, stripes, tartan, spiky hair, Chucks, Vans, and trucker hats derived from grunge and skate punk fashion.
Due to the internet, especially fashion, hair and makeup tutorials on YouTube and MySpace, scene fashion had spread to America and Australia by the mid-2000s. Notable trendsetters included singer Jeffree Star and Kiki Kannibal from Florida. Typical clothing of this period included miniskirts, striped tights, hoodies, androgynous hairstyles and skinny jeans. Before 2005, these outfits were in predominantly darker colors like black or grey, but accented with the occasional brightly colored garment.
Evolution (2008–2012)
By 2008, the scene subculture had become a common sight in Britain and the United States, superseding the earlier emos, goths, skater subculture, and Moshers. Users from Social Network site MySpace started to upload selfie photos showing hairstyles with dyed hair and spikes, black skinny jeans, heavy silver necklaces, bright pink or turquoise plastic bangles, heavy makeup, and multicolored or black T-shirts with a flashy, intricate graphic design. At this time, the fashion took on and evolved into androgynous, matted, flat and straight hair sometimes dyed bright colors, drainpipe jeans, cartoon print hoodies, shutter shades, promise rings, checked shirts, and lots of very bright colors. Scene girls often wear thick eyeliner, brightly colored hair clips, and children's jewelery featuring 80s and 90s cartoon characters like the Care Bears, Pokémon, Transformers, or My Little Pony. At first this new trend was attributed to singer and fashion designer Jeffree Star, being considered something original. However, the style was still considered "unique" and influenced music groups like Brokencyde and Blood on the Dance Floor.
During the early 2010s, popular clothings included skinny jeans, trucker hats, Nike shoes, mismatched neon green, fluorescent yellow or hot pink socks worn with sneakers or Sperry Top-Siders boat shoes, 2fer and layered shirts, tees and polos, Vans, flannel shirts, thin ties, Chucks, Keds, vintage tees, plain tees with contrasting edging, and Vans. Shirts and hoodies with messages such as "cool story bro" or the logos of music such as Blood on the Dance Floor, Brokencyde and Jeffree Star became popular among scene kids in the early 2010s.
Decline (2013–present)
By 2012, many scene kids had abandoned the cartoon print hoodies, skinny jeans and studded belts in favor of a more hardcore/skate punk look with wifebeaters, plain hoodies, Vans, tapered jeans, and stretched earlobe piercings, except in parts of Latin America, like Fortaleza, where late-2000s scene and emo fashion remained common. Short hair replaced the androgynous styles of the late 2000s, with many scene kids opting for messy cropped hair with colors dyed in, or adopting the undercut associated with indie kids and the contemporary skater subculture.
Latin American variants
From the mid 2000s until the early 2010s, similar subcultures appeared in Latin America, including the Coloridos of Brazil, the Pokemon of Chile, and the Floggers of Argentina. These teenagers all had a common interest in techno music, indie pop and neon 80s inspired glam fashions, and were identifiable by their tight jeans and androgynous straightened hair.
Flogger
The teenage flogger subculture originated in Argentina in 2004 and was closely related to Fotolog, a photoblog web site. The style is principally composed of tight trousers on males and females alike, broad V-neck T-shirts, fluorescent colors, canvas sneakers or skate shoes, blonde or black hair, long fringe brushed to one side of the face or over one eye, straight hair and horn-rimmed glasses.
This fashion has also adopted a particular way of dancing colloquially called Electro, which as the name implies is usually performed to electro house, electro clash and techno music. The moves include variations of tecktonik, jumpstyle and shuffle.
Pokemón
The Chilean equivalent of scene kids were nicknamed Pokemón during the mid 2000s due to their bright, angular and pressed hairstyles, reminiscent of characters from the Japanese media franchise Pokémon. Pokemones were usually from the Chilean middle and lower class and were frequently juxtaposed against another group, the so-called peloláis, well-to-do girls with long, straight fairer hair from private, Catholic schools. Pokemones dressed similarly to other urban tribes, such as otaku and emo, but they were not followers of anime like the former, nor did they share the musical tastes of the latter. Apart from borrowing the sideswept bangs of the emo subculture, the Pokemones also shared some aspects typical to the punk and the local "hardcore" subculture. During parties they danced to reggaeton music, while kissing and groping with as many people (male or female) as they could, which they called poncear. They made extensive use of the Internet, trading photos of themselves on image-sharing site Fotolog and communicating through MSN Messenger. The subculture was common from 2005-2009, but by 2012, it was considered extinct.
Coloridos
In other Latin American countries, especially Brazil, scene clothing and androgynous hairstyles were often worn by teenage fans of bubblegum pop groups like Restart. In response to the (sometimes violent) backlash against emo kids, especially in Mexico, teenagers of both genders began wearing bright colors and cartoon prints, rather than black. From the late 2000s until the mid 2010s these fans, known as Coloridos, were a common sight in northern Brazilian cities like Fortaleza. By 2015, however, bands and fans alike had moved away from the bright colors in favor of a darker look inspired by 1990s grunge and the 2010s hipster subculture.
Music
Often the scene subculture has been associated with emo, electronicore, post-hardcore, metalcore, deathcore, electronica, pop punk, dubstep, electronic dance music, rave music, crunkcore, skate punk, indie pop, and indie rock. Some groups and artists in music associated with the scene subculture include X Blake Freeman X, Jeyzeus, Never Shout Never!, K-oZZ, TCR, Nitrah Neon, Unicorns Killed My Girlfriend, I Set My Friends On Fire, Metro Station, Brokencyde Blood on the Dance Floor, Dot Dot Curve, 3OH!3, Scene Kidz, Breathe Carolina, Jeffree Star, Millionaires, and Design the Skyline.