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KADAZAN DUSUN YOUTH CONSUMERIST CULTURE: SOCIAL MEDIA, CLOTHING

AND FASHION

Article  in  Journal of Advanced Research in Dynamical and Control Systems · July 2020

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Jour of Adv Research in Dynamical & Control Systems, Vol. 12, 07-Special Issue, 2020

Kadazan-Dusun Youth Consumerist Culture:

Social Media, Clothing and Fashion
Andreas Totu, Kadazan-Dusun Chair, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
E-mail: andreast@ums.edu.my
Romzi Ationg, Centre for the Promotion of Knowledge and Language Learning, Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
E-mail: rationg@ums.edu.my
Rose Patsy Tibok, Centre for the Promotion of Knowledge and Language Learning, Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
E-mail: rose.tibok@ums.edu.my
Halina Sendera Mohd Yakin, Centre for the Promotion of Knowledge and Language Learning, Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
E-mail: sendera@ums.edu.my
Abstract--- Development at times brings to fore conflict between tradition and the need to modernise so as to keep
abreast with current trends and approaches. In some rapid developing economies such as Malaysia, the populace is
still generally conservative in terms of how they portray themselves particularly in style and fashion. Malaysians,
particularly the older generation, are inclined to be selective and prefer fashion and attire forms that are modest and
not exposing body shape or skin mainly due to religious and cultural norms and sensitivities. This traditional
perspective is prevalent in Asian communities where preserving „face‟ is paramount – so much so that members of
that community would go to great lengths to avoid actions and behaviour thatcould be construed as „detrimental‟ to
dignity and self-worth. The fashion and attire choice of the younger generation often become issues of conflict
between the young and their elders with the fashion sense of youths perceived to be dictated more by the fulfilment
of social-media-induced wants rather than actual needs. This paper is an attempt to examine the fashion and attire
choices of young Kadazan-Dusun milennials in Sabah, Malaysia. The study involved four Focus Group discussions
with six participants in each group consistingundergraduates of a local university in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah,
Malaysia. The findings showed that while the youths on the wholewere inclined towardsfollowing current fashion
trends, they would only indulge in this fashion preference at the right place and time to blend in with their circle of
„cool modern global citizens‟. Some participants however, especially from the rural areas, demonstrateddispleasure
towards extreme and „inappropriate‟ fashion and attire. The outcome of this study also indicated Instagram as
contributory to the fashion and attire choices of Kadazan-Dusun youths.
Keywords--- Kadazan-Dusun, Youth Identity, Fashion and Attire, Consumerist Culture, Social Media.

I. Introduction
The Kadazan-Dusun people of the Astronesian language family are the indigenous inhabitants of the Malaysian
state of Sabah, one of the three regions in Malaysia. The state, formerly known as British North Borneo, is home to
this traditionally paddy cultivator community although many nowadays are in white and blue collar employment
particularly those living in urban areas.Although more educated and living modern lifestyles, many still uphold their
traditional beliefs and Adat(cultural rules or codes) to regulate and govern their behaviour. Any action by any
member of the community that upsets the delicate balance in the order of the cosmos is seen as tantamount to
causing divine retribution to theirsociety in the form of plagues, pestilence, floods and crop failures (Luping, 2009).
Non-adherence to Adatin terms of behaviour, food or diet, and even the manner of dressingcould also affect their
„face‟ or dignity. Therefore, non-compliance to Adat must be avoided at all cost since any infringement would
invoke penalty under Adatlaws. A pertinent question hereis whether these traditional norms and Adat laws are able
to buffer the Kadazan-Dusun youth from the temptations of the modern consumerist culture proliferated by social
media.
The objective of this paper was to investigate whether the Kadazan-Dusun youth has inclined towards a
consumerism way of life, particularly in the area of fashion. There are at least two perspectives when discussing the
term „consumerism‟. Firstly, it refers to the area of law which protects and safeguards the basic rights and interests
of consumers such as right to safety and protection from hazardous products and goods as well as from false and
misleading claims. The second perspective touches on the area of social and economic aspects. Thislatter
perspective claims that the current social and economic order encourages people to spend their money to purchase
goods and services in greater volumes. Such a consumerist attitude is further aggravated by traditional and social

DOI: 10.5373/JARDCS/V12SP7/20202157
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media with the purchase at times seemingly unnecessary. It has been argued by various researchers (Veblen in Lee,
2000; Mackay, 1997) that impulsive consumption activities have become too common and eventually accepted as a
way of life.The role of social media as influencer marketing tool is paramount in creating endless new wants in
consumers. The study of the relationship between social media and fashion has not been extensively investigated
since the subject of fashionand attireitself is not recognised as an important area of research.
Although many writers had demonstrated keen interest to explore the subject of fashion and attire since the
thirteenth century, the discussion was mainly among philosophers and moralists who did not provide any empirical
data or factual evidence. Fashion or dress studies have not been considered as academic disciplines. It is
acknowledged among scholars and research professionals (Kawamura, 2005; Lipovetsky, 1994; McRobbie, 1998;
Brydon & Niessen, 1998; Palmer, 1997; Ribeiro, 1998; Taylor, 2004) that fashion and attire as a research topic in
academia is not taken seriously and not considered as having intellectual merit. The main reason for this is due to the
absence of a clearly articulated theoretical framework to study fashion and attire (Kawamura, 2020). According to
Kawamura (2018) and Skov and Melchior (2010), it was only in the last decades of the 20th century after various
approaches were integrated across disciplines and institutions that it became possible to engage in discussions on
aspects of „fashion studies‟, reflected by the emergence of research centres, academic journals and graduate
programmes with such heading. However, both the term and what it is perceived to represent are contested; while
some scholars and institutions endorse „fashion studies‟, others reject it or distance themselves from it. This review
shows that fashion and attire studies arestill relatively at their infant stage.
Very limited studies have been conducted to examine the fashion trend among Kadazan-Dusun youths in relation
to the creation of personal identity, traditional values and Adat law. This is in line with the scarcity of fashion
studies in the literature. This study was therefore initiated to investigate the relationship between fashion and its role
in the creation of Kadazan-Dusun youth identity and how these two elementswere discussed within the sphere of
traditional values and Adat Laws. This study also examined the role ofsocial media, particularly Instagram, in the
Kadazan-Dusun youth‟s choice of fashion and attire.

II. Consumerism as a Way of Life

Before the 20th century, consumption was perceived as less important compared to „real‟ work in various sectors
such as in industry, commerce and administration. During that era, work was upheld as noble and productive, whilst
consumption and leisure were viewed as less worthy, frivolous, wasteful, indulgent and even decadent (Mackay,
1997). According to Bocock (1992), societies during this era spent much of their time working, investing and
building up businesses. Consumption or use of the surplus benefits generated from their hard-earned labour was not
encouraged; instead, they only consumed to satisfy their basic biological needs. Consumption then was seen as
insignificant in the realm of public sphere.
After the 20th century, there was a transformation in perspective with regards to work versus consumption
issues. Society began to view consumption as important, in fact at times more so than work. This heralded the birth
of a consumer society (Trentmann, 2016). In the current era, consumerism has become a way of life; according to
Lee (2000), no aspect of everyday life has been left untouched by the arrival of the consumer society - from the
dwellings we inhabit, the modes of transportation and communication we use to travel and communicate with
others, the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the way in which we spend our leisuretime, and the very structure of
daily lifeitself. All these changes are not simply the outcome of scientific and technological advancement but in
factare reflective of a profound and fundamental change in the way that we as a society organise our very means of
existence.
New Consumer Society
Consumer society treats consumption activity as a process by which goods are not simply bought and
„consumed‟ but given meaning through their active incorporation into their lives (Jackson, 1993). When consumers
become the active participants in the creation of social and cultural meanings, the consumption of lifestyles becomes
a process of „aestheticisation‟ of everyday life. Warde (1994) characterised them as „heroic consumers‟ or
consumers that use images, signs and symbolic goods to conjure dreams, desires and fantasies. In the construction of
such lifestyles, the use-value of an object of consumption is secondary to the object‟ signifying effects to its „sign-
value‟, organised around a „theology of appearences‟ (Hebdige, 1993). Specifically, it draws attention to the
symbolic aspects of goods and the way in which they are used as communicators (Marx, 1974/1867; Bauldrillard,
1990/1968; Featherstone, 1991) and to express their identity that demarcate them from others. The consumption of
material goods and services is also pursued in an attempt to make oneself „feel better‟ or „cool‟ (Elliot, 1994; Friese

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& Koenig, 1993) although such attempts are at timesoften in contradictionwith the ideological, cultural, custom or
moral norms in certain socio-cultural settings. Indeed, the discussion on consumption after the 20th century has
shifted from economics to the realm of culture.
Consumerism appears to have become an integral part of the very fabric of modern life. All aspects of life have
had to adapt to a world where the needs and desires of consumers are apparently paramount. Consumerism arguably
pervades our daily life and structures our everyday experience yet it perpetually altersin its form and reasserts its
influence in new guises. Everyday life appears, at least at a common sense level, to be dominated by our relationship
with consumer goods. According to Lee (2000), „…due to thorough and complete inculcation into the system of
consumer society, we are indeed so immersed in its logic, its modes of address and manners that we can scarcely
begin to conceive of a form of social life which is not organised around the consumption of mass produced
commodities‟ (p. xiv). Therefore, a consumption-oriented way of life becomes no more than the normalway of life
of contemporary societies. However, in this fast changing world, our relationship with commodities does not mean
simply engaging in the act of consumption which involves buying and making use of consumer goods; rather it goes
much beyond to include the complexities that lie behind the act of consumption (Miles, 1998).
Baudrillard (1990) theorises that needs do not attach to any objects but rather connect to a system: needs and
consumption, in fact, are an organised extension of production forces. To him, needs have nothing to do with
pleasure or satisfaction. Baudrillard suggests that we do not purchase items of clothing, food, body decoration,
furniture or entertainment to express a pre-given sense of who we are; instead, we become that which what we buy
makes us. In other words, his contention is that the sphere of the symbolic has become primary in modern capitalism
whereby the image is more important than the satisfaction of material needs. In the words of a famous contemporary
poster, „I shop, therefore I am‟ (Bocock, 1992:150).
To furtheraggravate the situation, a consumerist society, according to Slater (2000), is enchanted with insatiable
and morally dubious desires and wants. As Fromm observes, „contemporary man has an unlimited hunger for more
and more goods‟ (1964: 179) withhis desires and wants never fulfilled because of an endless process of replacement.
As Markin Jr. (quoted from Campbell, 2000: 48) explains, „when one want is fulfilled, several more usually pop up
to take its place‟ – this explains the endless pursuit of wants. Therefore, consumption must, according to
Baudrillard‟s theory of the commodity-sign, be understood primarily as the consumption of signs, way beyond use-
value.
Consumers hence consume not so much specific objects to accomplish specific concrete ends but signs in
general for general social ends. The purpose of commodities for Baudrillard, according to Douglas and Isherwood
(1979), is to communicate – to tell other people that by having such objects, they are „different‟ from other people.
Baudrillard‟s approach to consumption shifts away from those based on „needs‟. To him, consumption is not a
material process, such as consuming food or drink, but rather provocatively, a „total idealist practice‟. Underlying
Baudrillard‟s idea of consumer culture is the „loss of the real‟ by way of the dematerialisation of the object in
contemporary capitalist production and consumption, and also by means of the corresponding consumer and cultural
experiences of a world constituted in and through signs. Nevertheless, Baudrillard‟s theorisation of dematerialisation
goes deeperand beyond anything that seem imaginable within cultural studies.
The dematerialisation of the object as asserted by Baudrillard is an aspect which Featherstone (2000) describes
as a „general aestheticisation of everyday life‟ through style. Featherstone argues that rather than unreflectively
adopting lifestyles, through tradition and habit, new consumers make lifestyle a life project and display their
individuality and sense of style in the particularity of the assemblage of goods, clothes, practices, experiences,
appearance and bodily dispositions they design together into a lifestyle. A new consumer speaks not only with his
clothes, but also with his home furnishing, decoration, car and other activities which are to be read and classified in
terms of the presence and semblance of taste.
He adds that consumption patterns have advanced beyond any „rules‟ with there being „no rules, only choices‟.
He asserts that there is a significant movement towards the break-up of the old hierarchies of fashion, style, and taste
in favour of an egalitarian and tolerant acceptance of differences, and the acknowledgement of the right of
individuals to enjoy whatever popular pleasures they desire without encountering prudery or moral censure
(Featherstone, 2000). He argues that as society moves towards one without fixed status groups, the aim of individual
consumption of products and services also changes from wanting to be associated with a distinctive class in a
society to no more than a choice of everyday life. Hence, within contemporary society, also thought of by some
sociologists as the late capitalism era, lifestyle connotes with individuality, self-expression and stylistic self-
consciousness.

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In this sense, the construction of identity is no longer defined in terms of class but appears to be confined within
the individual self. Identity, in late modernity, is chosen and constructed (Giddens, 1991; Kellner, 1992) – it is
created and re-created through a plurality of consumer choices and lifestyle decisions. However, the „choices‟ may
be argued within the notion of „plurality and diversity‟ in that although there are many products or lifestyles to
choose from, the choices, according to Murdock (1992), are versions of the same products in a variety of packages.
Consumers today, particularly the young, are labeled with a variety of group markers or labels such as the
Supermarket Generation, the Screen Generation and the Computer Generation (Papert, 1993); and the Nintendo
Generation, Techno-kids and Cyberkids (Sefton-Green, 1998). However, other labels such as the Lost Generation
(Green et al., 1998), Baby Boomers, Generation X or Millennials (Coupland, 1994) and Generation Y (O‟Leary,
1998) move beyond such technological reductionism by pointing to wider sources of identity (Kenway & Bullen,
2001). The Y Generation, according to O‟Leary, are ready consumers with a particular interest in techno-based
products and activities. Generation Z on the other hand is born after the millennial age and looks for unique ways of
shopping. Just like Millennials, Gen-Z is digital-savvy and interested in what is pereived as „cool‟ and in-trend.
They are also avid followers of influencer marketing via Instagram (JCI Institute, 2019).
In this perspective, Hall conceives the „self‟ as fragmented and incomplete:
We can no longer conceive of „the individual‟ in terms of a whole, centred, stable and complete Ego or
autonomous, rational „self‟. The „self‟ is conceptualised as more fragmented and incomplete, composed of multiple
„selves‟ or „identities‟ in relation to the different social worlds we inhabit something with a history, „produced‟ in
process. The „subject‟ is differently placed or positioned by different discourses (1989: 120).
In this context, Hall sees the subject or individual as a contradictory creature. Therefore, once one assumes that
each subject or individual is contradictory, one mightunderstand why and how in a specific situation (such as social
context or cultural environment) a subject would be „dominated‟ by a particular arrangement of that subject‟s
different „identities‟. The current varied lifestyles (with values) of Malaysian youths probably emerged as a result of
identity changes to conform to their current cultural environment, which, according to Giddens (1991), is composed
of the various elements of modernisation and globalisation.
Malaysian Fashion and Attire Choices and Social Media
According to a Nielsen Global Brand report, consumers in Malaysia and other Asian regions indicated a
preference for global brands compared to locally manufactured goods (Hew, 2017) with nine out of 10 consumers in
Malaysia opting forthese internationalnames. Other studies have reported a similar trend in India, Singapore and
Vietnam (Kumar et al., 2009). This region‟s inclination towards global brands could be due to Asian consumers
seeking to associate themselves with international looksin order to blend into global fashion trends and acquire, what
Pham and Richards (2015) call, a “passport of global citizenship”.To keep abreast of new fashion trends, youths
would usually refer to various social media platforms.
Social media has advanced from simply providing a platform for individuals to stay in touch with their family
and friends to its current role as a place where consumers could learn more about their favourite fashion or attire that
is popular and in-trend. The process of learning not only serves to expose them to new styles but may often
influence their choices on a daily basis. Social media as influencer marketing tool is a relatively new phenomenon.
Influencer Marketing is a type of marketing that focuses on using key leaders to drive brand messages to the larger
markets. According to Forbes, influencer marketing could be defined as a form of marketing in which focus is
positionedon specific key individuals rather than the target market as a whole (Forbes.com). This marketing strategy
is actively replacing the traditional advertisement with the popularity of advertising steadily decreasingdue in part to
ad blocking issues (Zietek, 2016). Marketers have therefore turn to social media influencers to promote and sell their
clothing brands and fashions. According to Silverman (2001), social media influencers have since become the most
powerful force in the fashion marketplace.
Since fashion brands are always on the forefront of new ways to reach their consumers and make them buy their
products, it comes naturally that they try to use these influentials as a marketing tactic (Silverman, 2001 cited in
Wiedman et. al, 2012, p. 142).
This marketing strategy is powerful because it promotes brands and fashion through their personal lives, making
them relatable to the average young millennial. Peer recommendation, very important and valuable among young
consumers, is easily accessible through various social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.
Although a new social media platform called Tiktok is rapidly gaining popularity, the old platforms such as
YouTube and Instagram are still having impact in the fashion industry. In Malaysia, there is a flat growth in the

DOI: 10.5373/JARDCS/V12SP7/20202157
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Jour of Adv Research in Dynamical & Control Systems, Vol. 12, 07-Special Issue, 2020

number of YouTubers due to the hassle involved from the process of producing up to the uploading of a video.
Influencers therefore are opting for more convenient, easy-to-use, and mobile-based platforms such as Instagram.
Instagram has seen an explosion of use in recent years. In 2017, the number of posted photos and videos was
approximately 95 million with „likes‟ at around 4.2 billion in a single day. In the same year, Instagram had around
700 million active users (InfluencerMarketingHub. Com). Awareness of this huge impact and reach of Instagram has
led to marketers or brands spending increasingly large sums of money to hire influencers, reflected in a steady
growth from USD700 million in 2016, USD1.2 billion in 2017, and USD1.78 billion in 2018. Of Instagram‟s total
audience, 200 million users follow at least one fashion account. 45% of Instagram users in Britain say they follow
these fashion accounts to gain inspiration for looks they could buy or create themselves. Sharing their own looks is
part of this process too, with #fashion mentioned an astounding 13 million times a month and #ootd (Outfit-of-the-
Day) featuring in 140 million posts to date (Wilberg, 2018).
The role played by Instagram in shaping and reshaping fashion trends and young milllenial attitude towards
fashion or attire is undeniable. The more they are exposed to and involved in Instagram acivities or stories, the
higher the tendency for them to be influenced by Instagram content. One way to explain the relationship or effect of
media on its audience is from the perspective of Cultivation Theory whereby it is assumed that exposure to
television (the medium) would invariably influence perception of social reality and cultivate attitude and behaviour
similar to that shown on television. Television cultivation is centred on the idea that heavy viewing is able to
mainstream the views and thinking of heavy viewers about the real world. The heavy viewers tend to provide the
„TV answer‟ (Gerbner et al., 1994); in other words, the more a viewer is exposed to TV or media content, the higher
the tendency for them to be influenced by what they watch on TV or media. This theory has been extensively used
in the study of television, although it has also been applied to examine other types of media including social media
since the late twentieth century. It is on this basis that this study sought to investigate the influence of Instagram in
shaping the choice of fashion or attire among young Kadazan-Dusun millenials.

III. Methodology
The method used in this research was Focus Group Discussion (FGD)to obtain in-depth information about
participants‟ opinions, attitude, perception, knowledge and experience with regards to their consumerism tendency.
Four focus groups were selected with each group consisting of six participants from among Kadazan-Dusun students
in a local university in Kota Kinabalu in the state of Sabah, Malaysia. The Kadazan-Dusun community is mostly
located in the West Coast and Interior districts of Sabah. Of the 24 participants, 10 were males and 14 females. Six
were from the Penampang District, four participants each from the districts of Ranau and Keningau, twoparticipants
each from the districts of Kudat and Tambunan, and one participant each from Kuala Penyu and Tenom districts
respectively. A criteria for participant selection was their level of media exposure: two groups had participants who
were heavily exposed to social media particularly Instagramsince this social platform was used extensively to
market fashion and attire among young consumers. These two groups were considered as heavy viewers. The other
two groups were those who did not have Instagram accounts or very seldom used Instagram. Participants from these
groups were termed as light viewers.
Participants were shown pictures and images of young men and women wearing modern attireand fashion.
Modern styles, also known as „street styles‟, referred to the type of fashion or attire which regular everyday people
were wearing. This was about dressing oneself in his or her own unique style based loosely on common trends, such
as short blouse or pants, so much so that it did not cover much of the skin. Some new fashion and branded
clothingwere also shown to the participants. After 10 minutes, the moderator would start asking questions and the
discussion would proceedfor between 60 minutes to 90 minutes for every group. All discussions were recorded and
transcribed before the information was analysed.

IV. Results and Discussion

Traditionally, clothes function to keep our bodies protected in inclement weather and perhaps from mosquitoe
and other insect bites. Such traditional functions have gone through changes overtime due to several reasons. When
consumer society first began to emerge, clothes were used to indicate social and economic standing (Sennett, 1978;
Veblen, 1975). Veblen (1975) sees dress as a way of expressing pecuniary culture or the way to display „wealth‟ due
to its ease ofdisplay. He opines that „we carry it on our backs wherever we go and so even complete strangers can
tell at a glance how rich we are - a cheap coat makes a cheap man‟ (cited from Corrigan, 1997: 161).

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Corrigan‟s study in Dublin, Ireland gives a general indication of how young women appear to incline to the idea
of clothes more for display rather than its protective aspects. He assertsthat clothing is not worn to protect one from
the weather as such, and indeed many would go cold just to appear well-dressed. After showing a picture of a girl
wearing a short blouse or cropped top (similar to a swimwear, this type of blouse exposes the midriff or human
abdomen and the belly button), one of the participants in this research (Daisy) commented with a very simple
statement in Bahasa Malaysia -“tidak cukup kain”– which translated into English meant “insufficient
fabric/material”. This phrase is commonly used by the older generation to describe such fashion. However, Daisy
herself felt that young women should wear such fashion only in the city such as when going to shopping mallssince
they were „trendy‟ and „current‟.
Daisy‟s opinion was supported by Nora, anurban woman participant. She opined, „We need to wear like that
when we go to the city, otherwise we will be seen as outdated or backward‟. Several pictures of young women
wearing very short pants („hot pants‟) were also shown to the participants. Hot pants normally have an inseam length
of two inches (50mm) or less. These short tight pants, made of cotton, nylon or some other materials, would
emphasise the buttocks and legs of the wearer. Those made from denim are called „low cut blue jeans‟ or „jorts‟
(from „jean shorts‟). This fashion was made popular in the mid-1960s to the 1970s and has recently re-emerged in
the clothing style of young women in the 21st century.
Another urban female participant (Dana) commented, „Wow very trendy and up-to date. Most city girls wear
this, right?Isn‟t this the current youth identity?‟ Dana‟s assertion shows the importance of „being different‟ from
other people, which supports the notion of identity forwarded by Douglas and Isherwoord (1979). Dana‟s opinion
reflects the perception of Kadazan-Dusun youths about individual identity, particularly among the urban young. The
opinions of Nora and Dana, both from the active Instagram group, appear to support the effects of media (Instagram)
on heavy viewers with their responses somewhat indicative of the resonance effect (one of the thrusts of Cultivation
Theory) taking place in this case. Since the social reality depicted in Instagram is similar to that of urban
environments, the likelihood of „double-dose‟ effects isexpected to boost cultivation (Clifford, Gunter &McAleer,
1995).
Lucy (a non-active Instagram user) on the other hand mused, „It‟s okay but it seems not appropriate if it is too
short. I prefer a not too short shorts‟. When asked why she deemed the item of clothing inappropriate, Lucy
reasoned that she would feel uncomfortable wearing it since she had never worn that particular fashion before and
her parents would be against her donning such outfit. A Muslim participant, Linda (an active Instagram user),
concurred with Lucy and added that regardless of how popular or trendy the fashion was, her religion would prohibit
the wearing of such attire. From the perspective of media influence, it would seem that although Linda was
considered a heavy Instagram user, she was in fact not affected by Instagram stories. This could be due to her close
adherence to the dictates of her religion, an element which may be the mediating factor in the relationship between
media and viewers.
Janggol, a male participant with no Instagram account,teased the female participants „I love seeing girls with
short shorts. They looked sexy and attractive, but I don‟t know for sure because sometimes girls wearing such pants
are perceived as immoral persons‟.Josue, another male participant but an active Instagram user, added „It‟s okay but
if you are in the village, you won‟t dare to wear such clothing because you will definitely be scolded by your
parents. Besides, you would also be scared of what the village people might say about you‟. Josue‟s“It‟s okay”
initial response shows that heavy users of Instagram seemedinclined towards new fashion styles; his subsequent
response howeverreflects the role of society in the preservation of traditional and cultural norms and Adat laws of a
community.
Donna, an inactive Instagram user who hailed from a village, viewed the fashion trend among Kadazan-Dusun
youths as „too much‟ and „overly done‟. According to her, „Sometimes, our youth‟s fashion is too much, to the point
of outdoing Western people‟s way of dressing. If Western youth wore such fashion, I think it is okay because it is
appropriate with their culture‟.
From these sharings, it would appear that Kadazan-Dusun youths viewed fashion and attire choices as based on
situations and appropriateness to ensure that they would not be outdated. This perception is in line with the assertion
by Hall (1989) that an individual mightchange his or her identity to conform with their current environment.
Regardless of how strong their cultural normswere, they still felt the need to „comply‟ to new fashion trends by
making adjustments to suit the environment they were in (reflected in their accepatance that modern fashion was
only to be worn outside the confines of their village). The tendency to wear clothes that are unacceptable by some

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people, according to Diderot (1997) has shifted the idea of “from the body ruling clothes to clothes ruling the body”
(cited from Corrigan, 1997:163).
This was the fashion at the turn of the twentieth century, the advent of individual lifestyles in pursuit of personal
identity. Finkelstein (2001) asserts that we readily map identity onto appearence in a promiscious fashion, giving
high premium to exteriority, the body surface and the look. “Look” is closely associated with self-image, one of the
profoundly important elements in the process of identity construction. Cohen (1998) argues that young millennials
are vulnerably preoccupied with their self-image; they „buy‟ image from various cultural agencies such as television
and advertising to acquire the „cool‟ badge (Totu, 2010). With new convenient easy-to-use mobile-based platforms
such as Instagram, buying branded products or imitating the latest fashion in order to convey to others that they are
up-to-date and „cool‟ has become common practice among the young.
Although preference towards branded clothes was indicated among the Kadazan-Dusun youths who participated
in this study, they could not actually indulge inthese fashion due to their own financial constraints. When asked
about her desire to wear branded clothes, Norin (an active Instagram user) reiterated „Of course I would like to have
branded and famous clothes, but it is not easy because I can‟t afford to buy expensive clothes‟. Donny (male, rural,
no instagram account) countered Norin‟s claim by saying„Come on...your shirt looks expensive. Not like me who is
poor..desire is there but I don‟t think I can have such branded and expensive clothes!‟.
Esther (an active Instagram user), who opined that branded clothes were not as important compared to comfort
and fashion, said, „Come on guys, do not think too much about branded clothes because we don‟t even have money.
The most important things are comfort and being up-to-date and fashionable‟. Esther‟s opinion was indicative of her
attitude towards fashion and also reflected the attitude of Kadazan-Dusun youths in Sabah on the same issue. Youths
tend to imitate current fashion from various cultural promoters (mass media and social media) to ensure they look
„cool‟ and up-to-date. In addition, being trendy would „announce‟ their youth and trendy identity to the people
around them particularly their peers. This tendency to „show‟ endorses previous research outcomes (Totu & Halina,
2014, 2016 & 2018; Totu, 2010; Featherstone, 1991; Pharm & Richards, 2015). The process of imitating would
continue as long as young people keep pursuing tangible elementsto differentiate themselves from others. Simmel
(1957) refers to such flow of fashion as „trickle-down‟.
However, this flow appears to point to youths as passive receivers of fashions. McCraken (1998) and Davis
(1992) suggest there are completely different relations between fashion and the people. People in the era of
advanced modern technology have become active seekers of fashions. Davis (1992) refers to this as „chase and
flight‟ with people actively searching new fashions and not just waiting for fashions to appear then imitatingthem.
Such active seekers of fashion could be seen from Debra (an inactive Instagram user) when she said,„I always check
through the Internet, such as 11street, Lazada and Shopee whenever I want to get the latest fashionable clothes. They
are not only convenient but cheap too‟. Nisa, an active Instagram user, added that she „liked to check new clothes
fashion in Instagram, Tweeter and Facebook, sometimes ...also check YouTube....‟ and „...follow some people who
posted new cloth fashions‟.
The presence of these online marketplaces and aggressive advertising and marketing campaigns on mainstream
and social media have played significant roles in building and promoting fashion identity among youths all over the
world (Czarnecka & Schivinski, 2019; Totu 2010) with social media influencers such as Instagram playing
significant roles in the lives of young millennials. Kadazan-Dusun youths cannot escape the presence of thisrapid
and overwhelming onslaught of marketing tactics conveyed throughtechnological channels. The market ensures
there are continual shaping and reshaping of fashion processes to make fashion impermenant and always changing.
According to Barthes (1985), no one is able tokeep account of these rapid fluctuations and assert authoritatively
which style, colour and shape proceed or follow the other.
He describes fashion as „an order made into disorder‟ with one of its functions being „to blur the memory of the
past fashions, so as to censure the number and return the forms‟. In short, fashions are made to seem discontinuous
so that they always look new. Fashion provides images for young consumers to imitate and the pleasure of satisfying
desires which are created in order to be satisfied by fashion. This is indeed a vicious cycle - once young consumers
enter this path, nothing seems able to extractthem out of the continuum. This research appears to suggest that
Kadazan-Dusun youths would find whatever means to ensure they are within the fashion trendsheavily promoted by
mass media and social media, regardless of their parents‟disapproval or the dictates of their community or their
Adatlaw.

DOI: 10.5373/JARDCS/V12SP7/20202157
ISSN 1943-023X 677
Received: 09 May 2020/Accepted: 10 June 2020
Jour of Adv Research in Dynamical & Control Systems, Vol. 12, 07-Special Issue, 2020

V. Conclusion
Consumerism in fashion has become a postmodern practice especially in the late capitalism era in developed
countries. To be fashionable has become the ultimate target for young millennials nowadays including Kadazan-
Dusun youths. To realise such wants, they then keep on buying items and commodities that they perceive would
transform or enable themto blend in as active members of a wider global community. For these youths, this becomes
a form of ultimateachievement in life. Fashion is arguably an arena within which the wares of consumerism are most
visibly exposed and fervently endorsed as constituting a legitimate way of life. In this research, many of the
participants werealready into this cycle especially those from urban localities and also heavy users of Instagram.
Some demonstrated strong desires to enter the cycle but were however held back by religious orcultural norms;
when these elements of desire and norms conflicted, theyouths modified their wants by indulging in modern fashion
and attire only when they were in the city andaway from their homes. Another important element that curtailed their
indulgence innew fashion was their ownfinancial capability – due to lack of funds, their intentions had to be put on
hold. It is inevitable that this particular group would soon join the bandwagon as and whentheir personal economic
situations improve since economic progress is key to the betterment of financial capability and the ability to indulge
in something previously out of their reach. Instagram in particular appeared to have a significant role in instilling the
consumerist culture among the Kadazan-Dusun youths especially in the area of fashion and attire with heavy
Instagram users exhibitinga strong awareness and inclination towards new dressing trends compared to non-active or
light Instagram users. This in itself supports the mainstreaming and cumulative effects of social media. The
resonance effect was also observed when many of the urbanite heavy users of Instagram exhibitedstrong inclination
towards new fashion. Although the majority of the participants were very much into fashion trends, some (especially
those from rural areas) felt they should refrain from being overly indulgingin new fashion in consideration and
respect of their cultural norms or Adat.

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DOI: 10.5373/JARDCS/V12SP7/20202157
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Received: 09 May 2020/Accepted: 10 June 2020

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