Although such groups strive for uniqueness, they sport certain badges or symbols to show their conformity to the group. In order to sell to a larger group and in an attempt to universalise these lifestyle symbols, marketers seize upon these badges. Thanks to the market, therefore, such niche-conformity groups are constantly changing, growing and merging. It is for this reason that these niche-conformity groups have become focus groups. While they promote adherence to a norm, the market aggressively tries to sell any viable stylistic innovation emanating from them. The aim is to help to move, if possible, the innovation from the group-market to the national, or even international, market in the shortest possible span of time.

The most visible of these groups are the youth groups. Their fast-paced, and watched-out-for styles are assimilated so rapidly that there is no longer any time lag between their appearance on the street and the production of their upmarket version. The reverse is also often true. The market is, thus, killing any instinct to be 'unique' or 'different', creating and fostering, as it does, a 'branding' process. Hence, any trend in the appearance or behaviour of any group invariably finds its way into the market in the guise of some product or the other. In fact, niche-conformity dovetails with the claim that the concept of the mass market is dying, making it difficult to practice the one-size-fits-all marketing strategy.

The most identifiable example would be blue jeans, which to start with had been worn only by farmers and labourers in America. Jeans were a contribution of the Beatniks to the youth of America in the late 60s and early 70s and proclaimed the ' breaking-out, breaking-free' attitude. Before the end of the decade, jeans had become a uniform. They crossed over several lines — from utility to style, from rebellion to adherence, from in-group insignia to a mass-culture requisite. Indeed, in the 70s, chances were that in any gathering of young people, like in rock concerts, for instance, 90 per cent would be clad in blue jeans. Today, jeans are a part of almost every wardrobe — designer ones for the brand conscious, off-the-shelf ones for the hoi polloi.

Ironically, the birth of designer jeans was again the result of the impulse to break out — an instinct of the up-and-coming to distinguish their designer jeans from that of, say, the plumber's. Thus, the same product, more flatteringly cut, perhaps at many times the price and with the brand name clearly visible, made its appearance in the market. It now caters to a niche that conforms to ideals quite different from what jeans originally stood for. Today, the same garment could signify comfort, style, sexiness or haute couture, depending on the brand that is worn.

The trend of declaring one's conformity to a group by adopting a particular style was, for centuries, restricted to the aristocracy. They were the only people who had the time, money and attitude to pay attention to style. In Europe, the rise of the bourgeoisie in the 19th century set a standard of collectivity. " The first people to set themselves apart from these dictates were the bohemians, specifically the Jeune France crowd in Paris circa 1830, which included Gerard de Nerval, today better known to English speakers for having walked a lobster on a leash through the gardens of Palais Royal than for his visionary poems. His friends drank wine from human skulls, assumed bizarre names, dyed or perfumed or sculpted their beards in strange shapes, slept in tents pitched on the floors of their garrets and so on. The connection between art and eccentricity was thus forged," writes Luc Sante.

Today none of this sounds absurd or bizarre because market seizes upon the new and universalises it. Hair colour, for instance, which in the 80s was confined to punks with their outlandish hairstyles and "weirdly-coloured hair", has now been adopted by the mainstream consumer, thanks to aggressive promos by cosmetic companies. Indeed, several foreign companies are now marketing hair colour in India. So, a punk today needs to look for a badge other than coloured hair because half the young residents of metros as also the not-so young ones, have their hair coloured with shades of maroon, silver, blue and magenta; with braids, plumes and attachments to boot.

Similarly, metal chains, leather jackets and cut-away gloves— the symbols of American chain gangs, which sprang mainly from ghettos and areas like Harlem, are popular on ramps. The same goes for body-piercing, airbrush body painting and tattooing.

Just as the market has made street fashions into popular lifestyle statements, so the opposite has also been true. Designers who guard their haute couture designs zealously are left complaining loudly when its replicas hit cheap, off-the-hanger stores in Lajpat Nagar, Delhi, Fashion Street, Mumbai and Sector-22 market, Chandigarh. "Nothing is sacred", they wail. After designs secretly worked on for the season are shown on the ramp, the same become available in their way, way cheaper avtaars by the end of the week in popular markets. If wearing a J.J. Valaya makes the couture statement of the season, a cloned design will do just as well for the "masses" and the market will obligingly supply it, as it will a Shyam Ahuja look-alike durrie.

In addition to the badges that signify the lifestyles of the niche and get converted into universal commodities due to the efforts of the market, in the present-day scenario, even attitudes are marketed. They, thus, appeal to the group that considers itself the adherent of that particular attitude.

" Attitude", in fact, has assumed a distinct personality of its own, evident in the slogan, "wear your attitude," meaning that the person who uses that product is brash, rebellious different. This kind of an attitude is sure to appeal to a large section of urban teens.

Ad companies have research departments to find out what motivates some people buy certain products. By discovering the motives behind people's buying behaviour, marketers hope to find the most effective appeal to use in their ads to ensure maximum sales. If a soul-patch, for instance, is the domain of the cool, trendy collegiate, be sure that ads for clothing, shoes, belts, motor-bikes, cigarettes, cold drinks etc. will definitely have boys sporting soul patches. And so marketing of niche-conformity symbols follows a cycle. From being symbols of a group that conforms to particular ideals, they enter the market and from there, provided the marketers are successful, they become mass products.