“If your imagined audience is connoisseurs of Prada bags. They will know your Prada bags, and whether it says Prada on it or not. In the case of these brands, they are communicating in something like a secret language. The whole point is who gets it and who doesn’t. I think it has more to do with the person wearing it feeling like they are in on something. In the case of the Prada bag, they may feel like they are part of the traditional upper-class construction.” Rob Walker, Journalist and author, Buying In | San Francisco Chronicle, 8 June 2008

“Whether their idea is connected to reality, like in the case of CBGB, is probably debatable. But they understand the message that it’s sending, whether it be to other people or themselves. Your audience for a lot of this stuff is yourself.” Rob Walker, Journalist and author, Buying In | San Francisco Chronicle, 8 June 2008

“I think the interesting thing about the adoption of sneakers as quasi-art objects is that it was kind of a ground-up phenomenon that came from consumers. It started as a style and then the element of scarcity, just like in the luxury market, became important. People began painting their Nikes and customizing them before the company got involved and began manufacturing the scarcity. Nike then commissioned artists to create a limited number of super-special sneakers and there would be near riots when the shoes came out. In that case, the answer is the consumers decided that this was worth being treated as something close to an art object.” Rob Walker, Journalist and author, Buying In | San Francisco Chronicle, 8 June 2008

“Pabst Blue Ribbon became a consumer-created anti-brand, brand. It became an authentic rejection of mainstream branded culture just by virtue of the kind of people who were drinking it.” Rob Walker, Journalist and author, Buying In | San Francisco Chronicle, 8 June 2008

“The iPod is the default product, the default brand. It’s an acceptable thing almost to the point that you have to explain yourself if you have any other MP3 player.” Rob Walker, Journalist and author, Buying In | San Francisco Chronicle, 8 June 2008