This is because much of their business depends upon a concept of fashion in which new styles constantly appear. Therefore fashion retailers are relentlessly looking toward a wide spectrum of cultural sources to find new styles and recycle old ones. And if the stores all sell it, then some people are going to buy it, and hence it will appear to be popular. Jonas pointed first to their quality but freely acknowledged the other perks of his style choices. What they are actually accomplishing is creating an Orwellian vision of a world where everyone has to be alike.
Realism seems to be the key word.
Dawson and his friends live their lives like a serialized clothing advertisement, inhabiting a world in which the characters are contractually obligated to wear American Eagle. So it is no surprise that the teenagers who enjoy the clothing also enjoy the program. This is because the makers of the shows have tried to put their characters in clothes that they believe those characters should be wearing. However, their own fashion decisions are in fact based on what young people are already wearing. Many teenagers do not buy into what the market is selling them.