Style tribes: Barry Didcock meets the Scottish author of a new history of fashion subcultures

THERE'S a school of thought which says the internet killed the fashion subculture, and that the demise of style tribes as we used to know them soon followed. Thanks to social media platforms like Instagram, Tumblr and Facebook, a selfie culture now proliferates which views the in-it-for-life subcultures of the 20th century - Mod, Rocker, Punk, Skinhead - as little more than dressing-up boxes for stylists, or something to dip into when your profile picture wants updating...