Retro Subculture.

Is retro-subculture a reaction to post-subculture?
Or is it more likely that most fashions have already happened so we're starting to look to the past?

I know things come in circles, but more than ever today (especially here in east London) vintage items are becoming ever more fashionable.
Today, with globalization and the internet, knowledges are more widespread and our subcultural trends tend to be chosen from afar, rather than rooted in places. People (in england) have more opportunities, more education and more wealth- therefore less reason for an actively fought for subcultural identity (e.g. in comparison to movements such as the punks in the 70's, an expression of the dissatisfaction of the working class)

Could the current retro culture represent a nostalgic homage to the past, when various oppressions helped FORGE an identity, sense of belonging, and sense of a fight?