What has “Indie” Become?

“I like him, but he tries to be indie when really he’s just findie.” As my friend said this, I looked at her in disbelief. I had never used the word indie to describe something other than music, much less “findie.” When I further questioned my friend, Nora Grabcheski, a sophomore at Montclair High School in New Jersey, she described the word as, “Findie: fake indie. You know, the kids that wear indie clothes and listen to indie music but they’re just doing it because everyone in their friend group does it. Findie.”

Before a person can create a “fake” version of a word, they must know what the original word means. So what does indie even mean? It is a shorthand word for “independent,” referring to independent artists or producers without a budget or big production crew. These productions were stereotyped as being things that not everyone understood, such as abstract films or songs with raspy vocals and a ukelele stringing together slow notes.

Since then, indie culture has become mainstream. Now that technology is incredibly easy for most people to get their hands on and apps like SoundCloud and iMovie have allowed everyone to produce media independently, the meaning has changed. People who produce music through Garageband and upload it to SoundCloud can still be considered indie musicians, but along with music, they’ve seemed to create an entirely new culture that not only ties in music and films but fashion style and even a way of life.

As I’ve seen from living in New York City, people who consider themselves indie generally dress and act a certain way. These are the same people who somehow know all the obscure new bands or go to Greenwich Village on a Friday night to watch a student film production. Though indie simply means “independent,” I have noticed a certain style attributed to being indie.

Grabcheski described an outfit she would think of as being indie: “You gotta have some of your worn, loose-fitting green jeans, and then if you’re a girl, you wear no bra with some basic gray shirt or crazy thrift store shirt. Then maybe some Tevas or even some grunge boots, and you gotta carry your mini [...] Jansport. And of course, you can’t forget accesories. I would picture some funky, big, dangly earrings and a nose piercing.”

As I thought about how she described this style, I realized I had been noticing these trends around New York City and in the hallways of Stuyvesant, especially in the past few months. I have also heard a lot more talk about newer, but less “pop,” musicians, with people spreading their personal musical style by posting on their Instagram stories whatever song they’re currently listening to or going to hip warehouses and hole-in-the-wall cafes to see indie bands.

Indie style can be unique but mainstream at the same time. Though people still see trends such as baggy jeans or a nose piercing and wear them, it seems teenagers are finding ways to put their own personal twists on their outfits. Maybe they add a shirt they found while sifting through a thrift store or earrings from a stand on West 4th Street. Indie has always meant independent, and teens today are staying true to that.

In a society where Instagram and other social media platforms dictate which trends are acceptable, indie style breaks away from this confinement. Though there is a vague template for the indie style, it isn’t as defined as styles such as goth or hippie.

Indie culture is spreading, and it’s only getting more popular. Apps like Spotify allow indie bands from all over the world to be heard by listeners from other countries. Even on Netflix, there is an “Independent” section, which contains many foreign films. Expect to see a lot more of the style this year, whether it be in class at Stuyvesant or on the subway ride home. This style doesn’t seem to be losing followers anytime soon.