Abstract

PECLY, Guilherme  and  BERLIM, Lilyan. The Clubber Community and the Role of Fashion in Belonging: A Comparative Analysis of the São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro Scenes. Vista [online]. 2025, n.15, e025009.  Epub June 30, 2025. ISSN 2184-1284.  https://doi.org/10.21814/vista.6271.

This study aims to analyze the clubber scene and its relationship with fashion in the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, using a comparative approach. The research seeks to understand the main events linked to the clubber culture in the Rio-São Paulo axis and investigate how its attendees relate to fashion and to the clubber identity itself, grounded in the concept of "neotribalism". The theoretical framework is based on the works of Maffesoli (1988/2000), Bourdieu (1991/2001), Thornton (1995), and Barthes (1967/1979), which help explain the symbolic, social, and aesthetic processes involved.

To achieve its goals, the study employed three methodological strategies: participant observation, in-depth interviews, and a survey. The analysis of the collected data reveals that fashion plays a fundamental role in shaping clubber identity, serving as both an aesthetic and social language. The clubber scene emerges as a space for experimentation, transgression, and constant reinvention. Furthermore, the research highlights how its signs and symbols are appropriated and redefined by the market, illustrating the dynamic of capitalist incorporation. In this way, the study sheds light on the complex relationship between style, belonging, and consumption within the contemporary context of urban cultures.

Keywords : fashion; clubber; neo-tribalism; communication; urban culture.

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