That is sort of amazing that the artsy/musically inclined kids dress emo (although they aren’t severe about it). I wonder if they see it as a kind of “uniform”? You know how the jocks will dress in Under Armour, Nike stuff? The Preppies have their style of dress. Perhaps, in your area... the pseudo-Emo “look” is their uniform. Either way, it must be a “temporary hat” of sorts since most grow out of it by the time they are 17/18.
The temporary hat is a great way of looking at teen fashions...we’ve got a bench chest filled with their hats,lol.