Co-creation as a process of undoing authenticity

This article explores the recent emergence of 'authenticity' in fashion in the context of tribal brand cultures in which the value of fashion items results from co-creation processes in environments created by online social media. The study used a qualitative approach in the form of a netnographic study, supported by secondary research such as online documents, photographic footage and media reports. Focusing on a young New York City-based outdoor fashion firm, the research explores the life-and experience-worlds of consumers in an online context. Following the tenets of Symbolic Interactionism, the study identified a socially and emotionally charged process of value exchange as a key driver in the relationship between brands and consumers. Social exchange between consumers is where meaning is extracted and symbolic properties are converted into markers of collective identification. While most analyses of co-creation and tribal consumption focus on off- or online contexts separately, the present study seeks to develop an understanding of the intersecting dynamics between on- and offline environments.