Hava Rosenfeld
Fashion as a Means of Communication
Hava Rosenfeld
Fashion
as a Means of Communication
Editura Gloria Mundi 2018
Š 2018 Editura Gloria Mundi, pentru prezenta edit, ie Š 2018 Hava Rosenfeld Editura Gloria Mundi Cluj-Napoca, str. G. Barit, iu, nr. 22 ISBN 978-606-94403-0-8
“Fashion is an international language and a global business.” —Sue Jenkyn Jones, Fashion Design (2005)
Acknowledgements I am grateful beyond words to my wonderful family for their unwavering support while I prepared this body of work. Engr. Alex Rosenfeld, Mrs. Debora Rosenfeld, Dr Daniella Rosenfeld and Michael Rosenfeld were there for me not only morally but also through their contributions to the actual creation process, giving me aid wherever and whenever needed. My luck extended to having an outstanding project co-ordinator, Professor George Prundaru, whom I thank for his assistance and who gave me the tools and helped me develop the skills needed to bring my ideas to life. Throughout the process I was able to reach out to him and each time receive priceless helpful information. I express gratitude to Ms. Ifeyinwa Anidi, my dear friend who supported and encouraged my goal of finalising this project ahead of time, and to PhD candidate Ioana Filipas for her many useful and timely pieces of advice. I am also thanking the Journalism Department within the Faculty of Political, Administrative and Communication Sciences of Babes-Bolyai University for the educational enlightenment and knowledge imparted to me over the years. I would like to use this opportunity to extend many thanks and whole-hearted gratitude to all the above-mentioned as well as to all those far and wide who communicated their support for this body of work in their different ways. Their valuable suggestions and guidance paved the way for the successful accomplishment of this project. Last but not least, I thank God for his unconditional and everlasting love and support.
Abstract Communication is fundamental to our subsistence as human beings. Life is communication; our actions, both individual and collective, are representations of our thoughts which we feel the sometimes subconscious and other times conscious desire to share. Nothing can be accomplished sans communication. Love is communication; culture is communication; education is communication; and last but not at all least fashion is communication. Even those that strongly believe that they steer clear of fashion, therefore avoiding communication through fashion, are in fact communicating their desire to not communicate. Tackled within this thesis is the ongoing debate of whether or not fashion is in fact relevant to our society. Arguments have been brought forward from multiple angles: political, academic and economic among many others. Furthermore, if fashion is indeed recognised as relevant, the question of just how relevant it actually is then follows. This body of work elaborates on the concept of communication and raises arguments regarding fashion from the perspective of the science of communication; this is a perspective that appears to have received an insufficient amount of attention thus far. Fashion as a Means of Communication is an analysis, an illumination and finally an illustration of fashion’s high relevance and consistent presence through the tactical words of fashion writers as well as through a series of factual experiments that aid in understanding the reasons behind the ways fashion is received. A series of especially versatile theories and examples are brought forward to further substantiate that fashion is not just that which it is generally and narrowly defined as today, but that it is in fact a very multifaceted concept. Fashion is appreciated by a minority in the world, but although vastly underestimated, it is one of the most powerful tools of communication.
Contents Acknowledgements 5 Abstract 7 Introduction 11 Chapter 1: The Phenomenon of Fashion 15 1.1. What is Fashion? 17 1.2. Fashion over the Years 20 1.3. Fashion’s International Presence 28 Chapter 2: Mass Media and Fashion 33 2.1. Fashion through the Media 35 2.2. Research Questions 44 2.3. Hypothesis 45 2.4. Methodology 45 2.5. Data Presentation 46 2.6. Overview 47 2.7. Tracked Variables 48 Chapter 3: Data Analysis 51 3.1. Analysis Grid 53 3.2. Elements of the Analysis Grid 55 Chapter 4: Semiotic Analysis 67 4.1. Introduction: The Science of Semiotics 69 4.2. Semiotics in Fashion 72 4.3. Vogue 74 4.4. Watchtower 76 4.5. Time 78 Chapter 5: Conclusions 85 5.1. Data Results 87 5.2. Female Gender Portrayal: Feminism Point of View 90 5.3. Role of Fashion in our Society 95 Bibliography 101 Annexes 105
INTRODUCTION Despite the common opinion of what I believe to be the larger percentage of society, fashion is of high relevance and influence in the world as we have known it in the past, as we know it in the present and as we will know it in the future. Therefore, fashion can be argued to be not only a method of relaying information — therefore a method of communication — but in fact one of the major methods of communication, considering that it is a method used by all, knowingly or unknowingly, willingly or unwillingly, all over our planet. Having expressed the above, I argue that research and studies should be conducted on such a powerful communication tool. Granted, studies on fashion have indeed been conducted, but to date not many have come at it from the communication perspective. This means that, using a small scale, this book should not only consolidate the fact that fashion is indeed a medium of communication, but also reveal how social values and general messages are communicated through fashion. The bibliography utilized is a collection of fashion-grounded and media-focused academic written works which I then combine with factual unobtrusive research methods in order to reach a communicative outlook position. Lifestyles can be and are usually conveyed through fashion, sometimes intentionally and other times unintentionally. Here, intentional communication is relevant, as this research focuses on commercial media bodies that have clear objectives which are conveyable and thus attainable partly through their fashion-related choices. The purpose is not to prove that the subject matters
12 Fashion as a Means of Communication evaluated for the conduction of this research focus on different niches (this is in actuality a very obvious fact already), but it is to examine their individual applications of fashion as an instrument for message transmission. Within this work, due to the diversity that the subjects studied possess (not diverse in what they are but diverse in what they exhibit), there is an exploration of different lifestyles and how fashion helps illustrate them. There are many angles of fashion and different entities employ different angles in order to get certain (intended) messages across. The implemented structure in this book starts from general and fundamental fashion theories leading into explanations on the phenomenon that is the media. In tow comes a content analysis of established fashionable constituents present in magazines that are produced and distributed by three prominent media institutions that predominantly cater to different, specific audiences. In succession of a presentation of supporting arguments regarding the undoubted importance of magazine covers, 20 magazine covers from Vogue, Watchtower and Time each are put through examination, amounting to a total of 60, from the years 2015 and 2016. While this number may appear too microscopic in the world of research, here I bring to light the customary practice in the magazine sphere of the release of one edition per month; this means that one magazine cover constitutes the most recent — as well as the only — self-representation instrument for the duration of said whole month. In consideration of this, one can reasonably conclude that the covers, although few in number, are embodiments of entire significant periods for their creators, which further leads to another reasonable conclusion that said creators would insert many efforts into creating covers that shall be deemed suitable to serve as sufficiently and efficiently representational for the magazine houses even during the interval between edition releases. Subsequently, a semiotic analysis that helps deconstruct the visuals depicted by the institutions is carried out. This transcends the main purpose of the research — which is to determine the utilisation and then the degree of the utilisation of the communicative quality of fashion — and touches upon that which the fashionable elements are in fact utilised to portray. From this addition of semiology as an investigative tool, the differences in the niche magazines’ employment of fashion as a means of communication come
Introduction   13 to light. Last but not least, an entire chapter is dedicated to conclusions arrived at after careful contemplation of all of the above. I’d like to take this last introductory paragraph to point out that the contents of this book are neither claimed as a complete portrayal of the entire set of global fashion elements, nor as a definitive characterization of the reviewed media institutions and their usage and application of such elements. It is simply a break-down of a few components and their consequent presence in or absence from the afore-mentioned magazine houses; components that are hopefully of generic and diverse-enough character to provide clear answers, substantial conclusions and wide-range public representation. For any question or remarks regarding the book or other professional endeavours, I can be contacted by e-mailing havarosenfeld@yahoo.co.uk.
Chapter 1: THE PHENOMENON OF FASHION
In our world, communication is the foundation of everything. Each and every action and eventual result that come to pass is due to a manifestation of some form of communication or another. In our day and age, we now have multiple forms of communication; means by which we can express ourselves and understand the expressions others manifest. Communication allows us to understand the environment in which we live. It is such a vast notion that contains multiple areas that can be analysed. One of those is the area of fashion, which is a very fundamental method of communication that can be seen and recognised on a daily basis. Whether it be wearing a coat out (thereby communicating that it is a cold day), or wearing rain boots (showing that the weather is rainy and the ground is muddy), or even a wedding band on the ring finger of the left hand (relaying that the wearer is married). In order to better understand the phenomenon that is fashion and its actual meaning, we must analyse certain factors and their effects on us all.
1.1. What is Fashion? As already established in the introduction, fashion is not only a method of communication but it is in fact one of the major methods of communication because it used everywhere, every day and in most aspects of life. Fashionable actions are either performed intentionally or unintentionally. However, regardless of the existence
18 Fashion as a Means of Communication or inexistence of intent behind the actions, individuals and collectives inarguably express themselves through their fashion choices: from collectives such as schools enforcing uniforms and banks implementing a mandatory dress-code to individuals celebrating their birthdays by wearing crowns or mourning the deceased by wearing all black. The primary motive behind all of the above may or may not be that of being fashionable, but it is without a doubt an effect that materializes, even if secondary, through the individual choices that spring from the collective expectations. Approaching fashion from this point of view, we can see that it is of importance to explore this universal means of message transmission from the perspective of communication sciences. Although fashion is seen as superficial and some people are very for it while others against, here we are bringing into light the fact that everybody partakes and, as previously pointed out, said participation may be conscious or not: we all have to wear clothing, therefore we all make clothing choices. We all have to wear shoes, ergo we make choices based on what is out there. It is very unlikely and uncommon that we would put on just anything at any time for any kind of outing. Just by having a look around us, we see people conforming their dress-codes to their different niches and activities of life. A certainty is that the fashion choices made — be it of an individual nature or for a collective purpose — resonate with the desire to exhibit one’s identity: who, what and where one belongs to; interests one may have; activities one partakes in, and so and so forth. “Fashion is a notoriously difficult term to pin down. Generally speaking, we can distinguish between two main categories in our understanding of what fashion is: one can either claim that fashion refers to clothing or that fashion is a general mechanism, logic or ideology that, among other things, applies to the area of clothing.” (Svendsen 2006, 14) I find the latter categorization to be much less limiting and therefore much more accommodating to foreign ideas and prospects than the former. In the words of Yuniya Kawamura, “fashion and dress/clothing are different concepts and entities which can be or should be studied separately.” (Kawamura 2005, 11). Another mix-up made regularly is that of equating style to fashion. While style is closer to identity, fashion is the much broader sense of it all that carries the weight of a large content and numerous contexts.
The Phenomenon of Fashion 19 George B. Sproles in Fashion Theory: a Conceptual Framework brings up a variety of definitions, among which are the following (Sproles 1974): ❱❱ Psychologist Ross quoted by psychologist Hurlock (1929) defined fashion as “...a series of recurring changes in the choices of a group of people, which, though they may be accompanied by utility, are not determined by it.” ❱❱ Retailer Daniels (1951) states “Fashion is a conception of what is currently appropriate.” ❱❱ Sociologists Lang and Lang (1961) treat fashion as “...an elementary form of collective behaviour whose compelling power lies in the implicit judgment of an anonymous multitude.” ❱❱ Economist Robinson offers fashion definitions: “...Fashion, defined in its most general sense, is the pursuit of novelty for its own sake.” (Robinson, 1958) Fashion is “...change in the design of things for decorative purposes.” (Robinson, 1961) ❱❱ Home economist Horn (1968) defines fashion as “...a manifestation of collective behavior, and as such represents the popular, accepted, prevailing style at any given time. ❱❱ Marketing professor King (1964) writes: “Fashion adoption is a process of social contagion by which a new style or product is adopted by the consumer after commercial introduction by the designer or manufacturer.” At this point, it is risk-free to state that fashion is a lot of different things, depending on the perspective you take in looking at it. Nevertheless, despite the angle from which it is looked at, based on all the definitions above we can deduce that fashion is indeed a communicator of factors. Effectively, it is a method of communication. To clarify, this analysis is not focused on individual choices; our interest is not fashion’s influence over people on an individual level. In fact, our concern boils down to what the media outlets communicate through representation of fashion; how do they communicate? What are the social values that are behind the elements used in communication? As humans we primarily aim to communicate and be communicated with. Accordingly, it is conclusive that the media outlets, based on their respective targeted audience(s), are definitely trying to communicate something through the elements — clothing choices, types of shot, background colour
20 Fashion as a Means of Communication and many more — that they employ on the media texts they disseminate. This analysis is not the study of fashionable fashion, but of fashion as a phenomenon.
1.2. Fashion over the Years George B. Sproles tells us in Fashion Theory: A Conceptual Framework, that for centuries the phenomena of fashion behaviour have been the varied subject of social analysts, cultural historians, moral critics, academic theorists, and business entrepreneurs. Spanning decades and centuries of changing fashions, literally thousands of commentaries focusing on the vagaries and nuances of fashion behaviour have been published. Taken collectively, this major body of analytical commentary and anecdotal opinion describes fashion as a complex, diffuse, often perplexing, highly visible characteristic of civilizations. (Sproles 1974, 463) Jean Allman, editor of the compilation Fashioning Africa, notes that the bulk of academic literature is in one of the two following paradigms: a cultural studies or historical approach to fashion and an anthropological or ethnographic approach to dress. In the former, concerns are specifically in western fashion as a system (including production and distribution) that has shifted across time and space, and hence is profoundly historical. It considers fashion to be an explicit manifestation of the rise of capitalism and Western modernity. The latter, on the other hand, defines dress as an assemblage of modifications of the body and/or supplements to the body. Scholars of the latter approach, like Ruth Barnes and Joanne Eicher, have insisted that fashion is not a dress system specific to the West and their work has consistently sought to liberate the idea of ‘fashion’ from the theoretical clutches of Western modernity. (Allman 2004, 2) A handful of cultural studies scholars agree with the ethnographic approach, one of them being Craik who has argued that, “treating fashion as a marker of civilization, with all its attendant attributes, is the reason why fashion has been excluded from the repertoires of non-western cultures. Other codes of clothing behaviour are relegated to the realm of costume which, as ‘pre-civilised’ behaviour, is characterised in opposition to fashion, as unchanging,
The Phenomenon of Fashion 21 fixed by social status, and group-oriented. This theoretical framework, with its rigid distinction between traditional and modern, has produced a remarkably inflexible and unchanging analysis of fashion.” (Allman 2004, 2). The eurocentric vision locates the motor of history — and therefore the history of fashion — squarely in Europe with the rise of capitalism. This thus means that fashion is about status, mobility, and rapid change in a Western, capitalist world. Simultaneously, those outside of Europe are relegated to the position of objects of ethnographic inquiry. They remain, as Eric Wolf characterized them over twenty years ago, “the people without history,” or, in this case, “the people without fashion.” (Allman 2004, 3). Allman argues that the intransigence of the two approaches is a problem of history — or better, of the failure of scholars to take African history seriously. Not only does fashion change and reinvent itself, but it also sometimes repreats itself; in fact, it repeats itself more often than is noted. This is a fascinating characteristic because it somehow never damages fashion’s substance and influence over society, which is much more than can be said for many other global industries; repetition is usually considered dangerous in business, but repetition in fashion is almost coveted by those invested in and aware of that world. Thanks to the glamour, appeal, charm and allure surrounding it, “fashion, as Walter Benjamin wrote, is ‘the eternal recurrence of the new’... an understanding of fashion is necessary in order to gain an adequate understanding of the modern world, even though it is definitely not being asserted that fashion is the ‘universal key’ that is solely capable of providing such an understanding.” (Svendsen 2006, 12). In The Consumption Reader, Georg Simmel writes on the philosophy of fashion, saying “…fashion possesses the peculiar attraction of limitation, the attraction of simultaneous beginning and end, the charm of newness and simultaneously of transitoriness. Fashion’s question is not that of being, but rather it is simultaneously being and non-being; it always stands on the watershed of the past and the future and, as a result, conveys to us, at least while it is at its height, a stronger sense of the presence than do most other phenomena.” (Simmel 2003) An online article written by Franca Sozzani for Vogue Italy stated that cycles and recycles are a common thing in fashion and they
22 Fashion as a Means of Communication happen in precise moments, usually every fifteen years, always in different ways but nonetheless inspired to a particular era. “Fashion repeats itself. It’s not really a going ahead, although you expose things differently. The result is very editorial, fresh, and fun. The younger generations didn’t go through those trends therefore everything seems new to them. Others who have lived them try to forget they existed. Being a testimonial of the past doesn’t go in favour of their age. The experience is very personal.” Sozzani went on to remark: “I don’t find anything bad in taking inspiration from the past as long as you don’t do a photocopy of it but reinvent it. Let’s be honest, we all get inspired by something, be it a movie, book, or other designers. We can forgive this if there is an added value to it, a personal interpretation. In the end, the past is heavy on all of us and there are so many books about it that it’s impossible not to be influenced at all. Fashion recycles itself very often but no one seems to care anymore. Generations change, the approach to fashion changes, tastes differ…” The “Vogue” article then gives the concrete example of the comments usually heard at the end of fashion shows regarding the collections: “if only you had kept all your clothes over the many years you could wear them again now…” (Sozzani 2010) One can confidently argue that many fashionable statements today are very much inspired by previous fashions. There are many held events that carry themes that focus on specific eras of human history, such as a 1950s themed birthday party or, more specifically, a 1980s hip-hop party. There are styles today that mimic uniforms no longer worn by military divisions and other work groups (such as flight-attendants). In fact, very notably, the original purpose behind these uniforms before they became every-day street style can still be argued to be rooted in fashion (in its sense of a much broader term). As one would expect, these attires had to be sewn and put together by expert tailors and seamstresses; fashionable principles can therefore be said to have been applied in the construction of said garments, be it the decisions regarding hem lines, cuffs, sleeves, shoulders and even colours. In war times the different parties at war were able to recognise their comrades as well as their opponents based on the colour and style of uniform (in fact, not only during war but in general times these differences were and still are noted as useful in distinguishing
The Phenomenon of Fashion 23 different groups). People could generally recognise friend or foe not only based on uniforms and choice of attire but even based on other smaller trinkets like a specific broche or any other particular item. In today’s world where we are all at war with faceless and unrecognisable foes (with terrorist groups the likes of ISIS and Boko Haram making terrorism appear almost inherent to society), such small clues like trinkets of different nature can come in very handy, and their fashionable characteristic lies in the fact that an entire collection of people associate with each other and present said association using such trinkets/items. Tattoos also played and still play a very important role in recognition of different attributes. A very important and relevant example is that of the involuntary tattooing of Jewish prisoners by the Nazi group that led the Second World War. The degenerate and malicious fashion of branding the Jewish prisoners allowed for easier recognition and segregation of the Jewish people in captivity during the Holocaust. Jewish-Italian Holocaust survivor Primo Levi’s description of the tattoo practice in the Auschwitz’ concentration camp complex (the largest established by the Nazi regime) is put into words by Dora Apel in The Tattooed Jew within the larger compilation by Barbie Zelizer titled Visual Culture and the Holocaust: ‘ “From the beginning in 1942 in Auschwitz and the Lagers under its jurisdiction (in 1944 they were about 40) prisoner registration numbers were no longer only sewed to clothes but tattooed on the left forearm… Men were tattooed on the outside of the arm and women on the inside… The operation was not very painful and lasted no more than a minute, but it was traumatic. Its symbolic meaning was clear to everyone: this is an indelible mark, you will never leave here; this is the mark with which slaves are branded and cattle sent to the slaughter and that is what you have become. You no longer have a name; this is your new name. The violence of the tattoo was gratuitous, an end in itself, pure offense.” Levi points out that only non-Jewish Germans were exempt from these tattoos. The tattoo was a necessary marker of difference, for the Jew was already indistinguishable from everyone else… In an attempt to achieve an even greater invisibility in the 1930s, more and more German Jews actually went uncircumcised, a remaining marker of difference. Sander Gilman argues that the increasing inability to distinguish the Jews helps explain “the
24 Fashion as a Means of Communication need to construct another ‘mark’ of difference in the concentration camps of the 1930s” (Apel, 2001). The above grim historical facts regarding the unjust and unfortunate Holocaust phenomenon help evidence the point I am in the process of making: all of the above can be classified as fashions of the time, fashions of the situation, fashions created to achieve goals of division, segregation and identification. In ancient times, tattoos helped identify a person’s status in society; this can be substantiated by the following: tattooing was forbidden by the Law of Moses in order to distinguish the Jews from other ancient peoples, who were considered barbarians (Apel, 2001). In our contemporary times, tattoos are supposed visual and bodily representations of the wearer’s feelings/interests/passions. As has been presented thus far and is still to be showcased throughout this book, fashion is not limited to clothing in the narrow way the word is used by many today; fashion is in fact imbedded in historical happenings as well as social and cultural expression and identification. This is not to say that clothing is trivial, but it is only to further define fashion by saying that clothing is but a part of the complex notion. 1.2.1. Fashion in Past Times Within the book Fashion Media; Past and Present we are exposed to the ideas of Canadian communication theorist Marshall McLuhan. In his book Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, McLuhan defines mediums in his terms: any device that is able to change the ways of social life is called a medium. Clothing is important as a medium to McLuhan in the sense that: “Clothing as an extension of our skin helps to store and to channel energy, so that if the Westerner needs less food, he may also demand more sex… Clothing, as the extension of the skin, can be seen both as a heat-control mechanism and as a means of defining the self socially. In these respects, clothing and housing are near twins, though clothing is both nearer and elder. (McLuhan [1964] 2003: 163)” McLuhan states that: clothing — as one of the historically oldest media of mankind — not only increased the reproduction rate by cutting calorie requirements, but it also allowed the human species to colonise and inhabit places that would be too cold or too dry to survive without this artificial body extension. Moreover,
The Phenomenon of Fashion 25 by protecting the body, clothing provides support in executing particular actions such as fighting animals (or each other) in a more efficient way. Clothing clearly brings advantages to those who have a better or more appropriate dress and deeply changes any social habit. This is still true with firefighters, divers or astronauts who depend on their special work uniforms and athletes who break running, swimming or skating world speed records because of specific textiles or footwear. To McLuhan, clothing is a vehicle of communication but not in the sense of a specific dress expressing for example the belonging to a certain class or group of people — like a uniform or the style of the 40s. ‘Clothing and housing as extensions of skin and heat-control mechanisms are media of communication… in the sense that they shape and rearrange the patterns of human association and community (McLuhan [1964] 2003: 168).’ In McLuhan’s opinion, the individual style, the colour of a shirt, the condition of jeans and sneakers, the logo on a suit label does not matter. Consequently, to him fashion is not a topic of scientific investigation. We are of course in disagreement with McLuhan’s deduction, as clothing “governs the way of social behaviour far beyond the point of the function of a heat-control mechanism. An appropriate dress code will enable otherwise impossible courses of action and allow access to places that are not only defined by environmental conditions” (Bartlett, Cole and Rocamora 2013, 111). Logically, taking into consideration McLuhan’s ideologies, we can assume that clothing in the past has had the primary purpose of sheltering the human body and making life more practical by facilitating the fulfilment of daily activities: hunting, keeping warm in the cold and so on and so forth. This in itself is still characteristic of communication, albeit unintentionally, because a purpose is deducible from the attires. The attribute of clothing as a defining aid of social placement is secondary and younger: understandably, the securing of bodily safety from external factors such as cold weather and insects came first and realistically still does. However, from a general viewing of clothing choices people make around us today, it can be determined that fashionable statements rather than corporal protection are the higher priority for some. Fashion has always seemed to, for lack of a better word, ‘belong’ to the female gender. “Conventional documentary archives,
26 Fashion as a Means of Communication particularly colonial archives, seldom provide a record of women as autonomous public or political subjects and, if women are there at all, they exist as blurred images hovering near the margins of the body politic. The archives of dress and clothing, however, often locate women at center stage.” (Allman 2004, 5). 1.2.2. Fashion in Present Times From the moment fashion became recognised as a phenomenon, judgments followed. Thankfully, society today is more accepting and less judgmental of fashion choices — in fact, people are thankfully more open-minded and that is really what is behind the progressive liberty in and advancement of our contemporary society. It is noteworthy however, that society is not much more liberal than in prior times. By now judgment should no longer be as big of an issue as it still is, but that is a topic to be tackled another time. Lars Svandsen agrees in the book Fashion: A Philosophy that society is reformed, starting with: “There are texts from the fourteenth century that describe how ridiculous people look when they don attire that diverges from what is strictly functional. Right up until the 1980s ‘serious’ studies of fashion had a tendency to express moral condemnation, maybe even contempt, for their subject matter.”, and finishing with: “All this has changed, however, over the past couple of decades.” (Svendsen 2006, 12) It must be mentioned, however, that in the same degree that people are judged by fashion, people also judge themselves. At first in the past, fashion aided in solidifying the division of the social classes. In recent times that began to change and now in current times, anyone can wear anything. In Fashion as Communication by Malcom Bernard, we are exposed to notions brought forward by sociologists Thorstein Veblen and Georg Simmel: “According to Veblen (1992), the leisure classes continually had to change what they were wearing, the fashion, in order to re-establish the differences between them and the classes below them. Once the classes below the leisure classes started to wear what the leisure classes were wearing, they had to find something new to redefine their differences. This idea may also be found in the work of Simmel (1971), who agrees with Veblen that ‘the real seat of fashion is found among the upper classes’.” (Barnad 2002, 130).
The Phenomenon of Fashion 27 Simmel continues, saying that fashion affects only the upper class and it is something that only the upper class does; the lower classes are simply left to copy, adopt and shape as best they can the styles of the upper classes. When this occurs, the upper classes must find new styles to wear, new fashions. (Barnad 2002). Here, I disagree: by the mere fact that the above is the way things develop, I am of the opinion that the process in itself confirms that fashions affects all the classes. Lars Svendsen points out that fashion has conquered an increasing number of modern man’s fields of activity and has become almost ‘second nature’ to us. So, an understanding of fashion ought to contribute to an understanding of ourselves and the way we act. (Svendsen 2006, 9). Despite all of the clear and indisputable elements that present fashion’s level of importance, as Barbara Venkin wrote in her 2005 book Fashion Zeitgeist, “Fashion has rarely enjoyed a very good reputation. Despite its undeniable success as a social and commercial phenomenon, it remains the very exemplum of superficiality, frivolity and vanity.” (Vinken 2005, 12). Svendsen agrees, saying that fashion has been virtually ignored by philosophers, possibly because it was thought that this, the most superficial of all phenomena, could hardly be a worthy object of study for so ‘profound’ a discipline as philosophy. Svendsen restates, “…fashion would seem to be one of the least important things one could imagine. In many contexts using the prefix ‘fashion’, as in ‘fashion philosophy’, is synonymous with dismissing it as something that lacks substance and gravity. From the very outset fashion has had its critics.” (Svendsen 2006, 12). “But”, she adds, “If philosophy is to be a discipline that contributes to our self-understanding, and if fashion really has been — and is — as influential as I claim, it ought to be taken seriously as an object of philosophical investigation.” (Svendsen 2006, 9) Clearly fashion is lowly favoured by many; it is also disapproved of, sometimes only some aspects of it and other times wholly, in its entirety. The reasons of such disapprovals differ, though not vastly; they are usually within the same group of thought (moral condemnation, religious reasons — whichever the reasoning, they are usually considerations of a judgmental nature). “Over the last twenty years or so, there has been a major re-evaluation of fashion, both in terms of its legitimacy as an area of serious academic
28 Fashion as a Means of Communication investigation and its significance in contemporary Western culture. Whereas, in the past, there was a largely dismissive attitude towards fashion, which was seen as a subject unworthy of consideration since it was concerned with the ‘trivial’ realm of appearances, the last two decades have seen a burgeoning of academic studies in this area.” (Negrin 2008, 10)
1.3. Fashion’s International Presence Culturally speaking, the world is home to very diverse peoples scattered across its terrains. Considering that these peoples live in areas that differ in terms of geography, climate and fertility among other things, their sense and understanding of what fashion is should no doubt and does in fact differ as well. Despite what one may consider significant cultural differences, it can be agreed upon that there are now generic conclusions that can be made by people from more or less all corners of the world in regards to fashion, as certain fashionable elements have spread across continents. These generic understandings of fashion came about due to a number of factors including colonialism, migration and last but not least industrialism: the technological advancement achieved in certain parts of the world spread to other parts and greatly increased and facilitated the level of global communication (radio, television and the internet, to say the least). For the purpose of continuity, I reiterate that in different parts of the world different attires represented the different classes, positions and general social distinctions. From the very beginning, clothing choices began to be considered statements of social statuses: kings, slaves, etc. An example from the 20th century would be that of the Holocaust: a method of differentiating between the groups of Nazi soldiers and Jewish prisoners was the uniforms the respective groups donned. Regardless of whether deliberate or accidental, the fashion statement was made. Sociologist Georg Simmel further cements this segregation by building on it, claiming that the very character of fashion demands that it is practised at one time only by a portion of the given group, and that as soon as anything that was originally exercised only by a few has really come to be done by all, it is no longer fashion. (Barnad 2002, 130)
The Phenomenon of Fashion 29 Lars Svendsen states in the preface of her book Fashion: A Philosophy: “Fashion has been one of the most influential phenomena in Western civilization since the Renaissance.” (Svendsen 2006, 9) The public only became aware of the existence of fashion elsewhere (in other parts of the world) more recently, realizing slowly that it has been there all along. I strongly disagree with the above Eurocentric statement, because it implies that in other parts of the world fashion existed all along but went unnoticed until recently. In Africa and Asia for example, clothing and accessories played a major historical role in identifying the social status of community members. This simple fact suggests that a strong appreciation for styles, types of clothing — and therefore fashion — existed. People were not only conscious of fashion but even cultivated and utilised it as a means of communication. Perhaps it was known under a different name or referred to in a different way, but other areas of the world were certainly cognizant of the very essence of fashion as a communicating medium. Through Laura Fair’s essay in Fashioning Africa, Allman exposes that, “Dress has historically been used as one of the most important and visually immediate markers of class, status, and ethnicity in East African coastal society. As one of many forms of expressive culture, clothing practice shaped and gave form to social bodies.” (Allman 2004, 13). Fair presented more concrete examples, including that Dress served as a critically important and immediately visible marker of class and status difference in nineteenth-century Zanzibar; the fewer and less ornate clothes one wore, the lower was one’s status. Slaves in nineteenth-century Zanzibar typically wore only the slightest of clothes, which were usually made of the rudest and cheapest white cloth. (Allman 2004, 14) Of the chapters in Fashioning Africa, a conclusive statement is given: “it is not possible to find a formula, a calculus of power and change over time, which determines the meaning of dress at any given historical juncture.” (Allman 2004, 6) The statement however does clarify that meanings do exist behind them, thereby confirming that there are elements communicated. The group of scholars that contributed to the volume treat clothing as an alternative archive which provides a window not only onto social change, but into African self-identities, self-representation, and domestic and
30 Fashion as a Means of Communication community debates about sexuality and propriety. “As Margaret Jean Hay points out in her mention of Oginga Odinga’s attempts to calculate his date of birth, clothing can even constitute an archive that yields the kinds of dates and chronologies we usually associate with documentary evi dence.” (Allman 2004, 4) Allman clarifies that clothing is not simply a substitute for conventional archival silences. She quotes Barbara Burman and Carole Turbin who stated that historians of dress and textile have learned to mine the meaning of material objects, visual and tactile culture, not as a substitute for verbal sources when these are unavailable, but in order to reveal dimensions of political and social transformations that cannot be discerned in observed social behaviour or verbal and written articulations. Burman and Turbin continued that “because fashion is closer to personal identity than other material objects, it reveals significant social change at several levels, and subtle links between changes in individual and historical processes, especially with regard to gender ideologies.” (Allman 2004, 5) Fashion has taken many forms over the centuries, changing at a constant pace; among such changes are the way women dress, the way men dress, the way cultures interchange traditional dressing customs and the way people are branded depending on their dressing. The way in which the world and the various cultures occupying it view fashion is and has always been susceptible to change over time. I believe that we indeed truly operate differently depending on the era. We go about our daily lives harbouring and developing emotions towards and about fashion. We may not all feel the same way about it, but there are only so many different ways to feel about it. In the end, we all feel some way about it. It is impossible to not have our thoughts wonder to it, no matter how shortly or rapidly, or how lengthily or deeply.
Chapter 2: MASS MEDIA AND FASHION
2.1. Fashion through the Media 2.1.1.  Mass Media Communication Scholars have been studying the media and mass communication for over a century. Although newspapers had already been around for many years, it was the introduction of film and radio that ushered in the academic study of the media as a form of communication. It is with radio and film that literacy was no longer a barrier for enjoying the benefits of the media. (Littlejohn and Foss 2009, 623) It is very true that the print media automatically limit their audience, because one of the requirements to be able to peruse through a newspaper or perhaps a magazine is to be able to read. However, it is worth noting that for magazines, the pictures are the main attraction that then lead the consumers to check out the written sections; this can be easily noted by the fact that the pictures are usually much bigger than the texts, so much so that they take up most of the paper frame. As stated by Brenda Downes and Steve Miller in their book Media Studies, “the study of media language is concerned with how the mass media are used by producers to communicate messages to the audience. Each medium has developed specific uses of language which are appropriate to the technology, methods of circulation and intended audience for the product. Audiences need to use different skills to decode and understand these combinations of print,
36 Fashion as a Means of Communication image and sound as they are used by each medium.” (Downes and Miller 1998, 17) Downes and Miller continue, “Most of us are taught to become print literate in school… by contrast, many people never have the structured opportunity to become literate in the reading of images. There is an assumption within society as a whole that pictures are something that we can understand instinctively, without the need for any training in how information can be encoded within images and decoded by audiences.” (Downes and Miller 1998, 17) From this, we can see that whatever influence pictures shared by the media may have on the audience is unlikely to be on a conscious level, but rather on a subconscious one for majority of the audience members. That is one of the reasons that in this work our examination is directly of the media and the messages it intends to communicate, rather than the messages the public believes to have been communicated. “It is important to make an explicit distinction between reality and media representations and to remember that the media operates in the spaces between the viewing, listening or reading audience and the world outside. The media are systems through which we experience the world beyond the space we occupy. We could also express this idea by saying that the media construct a relationship between the audience and the real world; they mediate between us and reality and create a version of reality for our consumption.” (Downes and Miller 1998, 63) Dan Laughey, in his book Key Themes in Media Theory, explains that the first way of thinking about media as they developed in each of their successive forms has been to try and gauge their effect on human behaviour and well-being. This is the case from the earliest mass media to the latest forms such as video games and the internet (Laughey 2007, 7) Laughey continues by sharing what he calls a “pioneering theoretical model of media effects”, known as Lasswell’s formula or chain of communication. According to Harold Lasswell (1971b), any act of communication — whether face-to-face or mediated — can be dissected into the five processes seen below that require separate methods of analysis (Laughey 2007, 9)
Mass Media and Fashion 37
➞
Control analysis
SAYS WHAT
➞
Content analysis
IN WHICH CHANNEL
➞
Media analysis
TO WHOM
➞
Audience analysis
WITH WHAT EFFECT?
➞
Effect analysis
WHO
➞ ➞ ➞ ➞
The above chain exists, in variating extents, within every media text ever published, and it is the basis of any form of communication. The media institutions first choose a target public and then generate their intention and objectives to match their target audience’s culture. To make an informed decision regarding their potential target audience, the institution must conduct some research. Afterwards, the (media) texts are designed and finally communicated to the public. 2.1.2. Media Communication of Social Values Jurgen Ruesch and Gregory Bateson, in their book Communication: The Social Matrix of Psychiatry, relay that the repetitive character of social events teaches people to react in stereotypical ways; stereotyped behaviour then creates stereotyped surroundings. “Therefore, when we speak of a social matrix, in which interpersonal events take place, we refer to the repetitive and consistent bombardments with stimuli to which human beings are exposed… gradually, the stimuli received and the responses chosen become stylized; the stimulus shapes the response, and once the response has been learned, the individual is conditioned to seek those stimuli which will elicit his learned responses.” (Ruesch and Bateson 2006, 8) They explain the concept of a value by continuing, “… Stimulus and response are thus welded into a unit; this unit we shall refer to as ‘value. Values are therefore, simply preferred channels of communication or relatedness. Information about the values which people hold enables us to interpret their messages and to influence their behaviour… The reader will recognise that, as soon as interpretation of messages is considered, no clear distinction
38 Fashion as a Means of Communication can be made between communication theory, value theory, and anthropological statements about culture. This combination of features is the medium in which we all operate; therefore we refer to it as the social matrix.” (Ruesch and Bateson 2006, 8) In the book, Ruesch and Bateson also claim that when a scientific operation in which a culture/subculture is studied as an integrated communication system, it is necessary to consider the following: a. That members of the population studied make generalisations about their own culture. b. That the investigator observes interaction and communication between the members of the population as a neutral spector. c. That each member of the population has his/her own view of his/her own roles and can in some measure report this to the observer. d. Lastly, that the investigator obtains important insight from his own personal interaction with members of the population. (Ruesch and Bateson 2006, 9) Easily, we can agree that point ‘a’ above holds a clear truth: we as a society set our own norms and rules. Not at all a one-time process, it is in fact undergone on a regular basis at a consistent pace; we are constantly reviewing and revising our own values and this translates into us making generalisations about ourselves often. Breaking down the remainder points, I will go so far as to state that in our case the investigator is in fact the media. How do I defend this statement? Simply put, every media house has employees whose job description is to find out what is considered ‘hot’, as well as what is needed out there; what the people want. This can be done by directly conversing with members of society or by indirectly collecting data without the members even being aware. The second can prove the more efficient because one then finds out even what the members have in their subconscious, simply by studying them. A direct question can give the member being spoken to moments to collect his/her thoughts and supply an answer he or she considers appropriate, whereas monitoring from the side-lines and asking round questions can allow for the investigator to collect actual truths. Agreeing with my above theory, Reusch and Bateson state, “If the investigator overspecialises in his attention to what people say
Mass Media and Fashion 39 about their own culture, he will arrive at an idealised or stereotyped picture of that culture…” (Ruesch and Bateson 2006, 10) As for point ‘c’, the magazines as the observers can receive indirect report from the population by examining numerical stats such as the number of magazines sold, as well by watching out for the impact their messages leave on the society. The latter operation takes longer but can prove to be more efficient and accurate reports. Through their book on media studies, Downes and Miller inform us that it is important to remember: the producers, whether in print or on the screen or radio, select their representations of people, events and ideas in terms of the viewpoint to be expressed in the text. This viewpoint is not necessarily isolated from the beliefs or ideology of the individuals responsible for producing the text, or from the institution which employs them. Nor is a text necessarily made with the intention of explicitly promoting a set of beliefs. Every text operates within a series of different contexts which are created by writers, editors, producers, interviewees, schedulers and the audience. Every institution has a different standpoint which is reflected to a greater or lesser extent in each of its products. This inclusion of a viewpoint is sometimes the result of a conscious decision to reflect the attitudes and values of an institution, but may be an indirect result of the way staff are selected and recruited, or of the criteria used to agree content. (Downes and Miller 1998) So, whether with intent or without intent, messages carrying values of one nature or the other always end up being delivered. Different mass media operate in different ways and undoubtedly share value-consisting media texts. 2.1.3. Mass Media Representation of Fashion Narrowing the sphere of general mass media, let us zero in on magazines; more specifically, covers of magazines. The covers are the first visible components of the magazine, which means that the magazines have the opportunity to emphasize their intended messages through said covers. As a fashion-inclined magazine for example, what social values can appear on the cover for the consumers to become interested? Even for a religious-inclined magazine, fashion remains an important aid in communicating the
40 Fashion as a Means of Communication magazine’s social ethics. This example stands for any niche out there; the constant that can without a doubt be found in all niches is the usage of fashion as a communication channel. That is not to say that through fashion a magazine’s most important social ideals are communicated, but it is definitely either the first or one of the first factors noticed by potential consumers. For example, the kind of suit a cover model is wearing on a business-magazine, and how clean-cut and pressed it is. This can relay that there is a certain dress-code attached to being a successful business person. Although not limited to just clothing and wearable items, admittedly fashion is in fact most commonly known from this point of view. Fashion is in fact vast and incorporates more than just what we see as elements of physical appearance: make-up, hairstyle, hair colour, etc. Malcom Barnard states in his book Fashion as Communication that the etymology of the word relates it back via the Latin factio, which means making or doing… facere, which means to make or do. The original senses of fashion, then, referred to activities; fashion was something that one did, unlike now, perhaps, when fashion is something that one wears. (Barnad 2002, 8) Henri Lefebvre is quoted as saying: “… As long as we do not restrict fashion to clothing. Fashion is also concerned as much with literature, painting, music… It is a general phenomenon. The study of fashion can be particularized by looking at clothing but it is the whole society which is implicated.” (Barthes 2013, 81) Having addressed this, we can narrow our interest in the broad phenomenon to how it is translated on a person’s physical appearance; instances on presentations of clothing and make-up. Malcom Barnard’s book also states that fashion and clothing may be the most significant ways in which social relations between people are constructed, experiences and understood. The things that people wear give shape and colour to social distinctions and inequalities, thereby legitimating and naturalising those social distinctions and inequalities. (Barnad 2002, 9) In the book Fashion, Gender and Social Identity, a lot is presented about social restrictions on clothing, which are in other words expected-social-values-communication through bodily garments: “there are social restrictions on clothing along with legal disciplinary practices, which restrict people and increase the pressure
Mass Media and Fashion 41 on the participants to adapt into prevailing standards about their appearance and behaviour. Dressing, because of its ability to transform the social body, has been also used for recording social identities through laws that limited the costs of clothing and marketing. Because of these regulations, tension is created giving a strange ability to clothing; to express separation or deviation from the social group, thus contributing to the creation of subgroups (Voss, 2008).” (Arvanitidou 2011). The book continues: “This socialization is shown by the important role played by the uniform in education, religious organizations and the military, while liberalization is shown by the plenty members of various forms in clothing of popular groups (folk groups) during the last fifty years (Crane & Bovone, 2006).” The book goes on to relay more information of importance to us: “Dressing is an important and controllable way to communicate one’s values, particularly rich in emotional and psychosocial consequences. The public and instantly visible nature of dressing makes it an ideal field for the study of values surrounding this consumer good, as a link between values and clothing. The style in clothing is a combination of personal expression and social rules. Dressing influenced by dominant values, social attitudes, socioeconomic status, life status, and some of the circumstances through which people want to assure their self-introduction. Clothing communicates symbolically the social identity, namely how a person wants and seeks to appear in society (Davis, 1985). In each case Fashion, Gender and Social Identity reflects the deep class character of contemporary society, considering the abysmal difference between the acquisition costs of branded clothing from cheap copies. Also men’s clothing reflects the concentration of power and emphasizes the male prestige.” (Arvanitidou 2011) This brings us to an intersection where we apply the knowledge that, through fashion, social implications are present in mass media in general and, more specifically and in relation to our own interest, on the covers of magazines. Social values are an important part of any society’s culture; in fact they are what the culture is made up of. And there is no doubt that messages carrying social values can be expressed through fashion. In ‘The Language of Fashion’ Roland Barthes tells us, “fashion is a phenomenon both of innovation and conformity. So it holds a
42 Fashion as a Means of Communication paradox which cannot be ignored by sociologists. We all follow fashion…” (Barthes 2013) In the book Social Values and Fashion Leadership by Goldsmith, Heitmeyer et al., we are told, “… Interest in and purchase of new fashions are responses to a variety of social and psychological forces (Davis, 1984; O’Shaughnessy, 1987). Certainly, clothing purchases are motivated by factors that go far beyond clothing’s basic purpose of protection from the elements (McCracken, 1986). Fashionable clothing is designed for aesthetic and sex appeal, as well as providing a means for signalling social aspirations or identity (O’Shaughnessy, 1987).” (Goldsmith, Heitmeyer and Freiden 2016, 38). To this I would like to add that not only fashionable clothing but any clothing presented influences the members of society, who then go out and search for items that are similar in one way or another to those which they have been shown; be it colour, hemline, sleeve-type, etc. By communicating through fashion items, the magazines are also able to advertise. Advertising is one of the main mediums of income for publications in general; magazines are no exception: Carolyn Kitch explains in The Girl on the Magazine Cover that advertising is especially persuasive when it offers the new through familiar imagery. In the earliest mass market ad campaigns, which appeared in magazines beginning in the 1890s, many images were more than familiar — they were in fact the same as those that adorned covers and illustrated editorial features.” (Kitch 2001, 160) Hairstyle (long or short) also carries reasonable weight in social perception. Within the article ‘Hairstyle as an adaptive means of displaying phenotypic quality’, Mesko and Bereczkei indicate through a study the effects of six hair-styles (short, medium-length, long, dishevelled, knot [hair bun], unkempt) on female facial attractiveness in four dimensions (femininity, youth, health, sexiness) relative to faces without visible head hair (“basic face”). “Three evolutionary hypotheses were tested (covering hypothesis, healthy mate theory, and good genes model); only the good genes model was supported by our data. According to this theory, individuals who can afford the high costs of long hair are those who have good phenotypic and genetic quality. In accordance with this hypothesis, we found that only long and
Mass Media and Fashion 43 medium-length hair had a significant positive effect on ratings of women’s attractiveness; the other hairstyles did not influence the evaluation of their physical beauty… finally, male raters considered the longer-haired female subjects’ health status better, especially if the subjects were less attractive women...” (Mesko and Bereczkei 2004) Hair indicates a lot to women and men of our society, be it hair on our face, hair on our arms and legs or anywhere else. In this analysis, the focus is on the implications of hair on our heads. In relation to make-up, researchers from a study reported on by a Yahoo! Beauty article found that both men and women deemed faces with makeup as being more attractive, which may not come as a surprise to some. But only the women saw the makeup-wearing women as more “dominant,” while only the men perceived those same cosmetics-clad women as more “prestigious.” The research delved into how using makeup influences people’s perception of your social status. (Bender 2016) In the study, both men and women looked at photos of women with a subtle amount of makeup digitally applied to their faces and the same women without any makeup, and then rated them based on various traits, such as attractiveness, dominance, and prestige. “We already knew that makeup altered certain social attributes like trustworthiness, earning potential, and competence,” Alex Jones, PhD, a co-author of the study and a lecturer at Swansea University in the U.K., tells Yahoo Beauty. “We wanted to know if it affected social status directly, and other psychological research has found that social status is obtained through two routes — dominance and prestige. So they seemed natural variables to measure when seeing how people perceived others wearing makeup.” In an effort to understand what the reasons for the perceptions were, researchers conducted a follow-up survey and found that women are more likely to feel jealousy toward others wearing makeup, perceiving them as not only more attractive to men but also more promiscuous. Dr Jones continued, “I wouldn’t say that they look threatening as in physically intimidating, but it’s more of a social dominance. So women wearing makeup might seem more intimidating in terms of the things they could achieve and that they might be better than you or invoke jealousy.”
44 Fashion as a Means of Communication The Yahoo! Beauty article then gives us one final quote from Mr. Jones: “I think the biggest thing to take away from the study is that makeup is really a powerful tool when it comes to altering social perceptions. It is capable of altering a multitude of traits, and in different ways to different people. Knowledge about how it can change perceived traits allows the wearer to use it to their advantage in different social situations, or be aware of how others might judge them in different scenarios.” (Bender 2016) Let us not forget, the text found on magazine covers are usually also intended to play a role in bringing in the audience. First of all, the placement, size and general appearance of the magazine name is already an element intended to reel in the consumer. The difference in size and font of the various textual messages is bound to have been strategically applied, in an order where the more eye-catching messages are to be more visible. For the cause of this research paper, I have put together a list of variables through which I believe fashion in its widest sense is usually communicated. Clearly, the cover of a magazine is supposedly the element that attracts the consumers, making them want to have a further look within the magazine. The magazines are likely to portray elements that can grab the attention of their target audience, and this is likely to become a pattern; however often the magazines are published, they are likely to maintain a certain portrayal of the subjects on their covers.
2.2. Research Questions After reviewing the above literature, it has become clear that messages are without a doubt transmitted regardless of intent. I then questioned if media outlets function with message-relaying intentions. Notably, media outlets are more than likely aware of the communication power in their hands and my question then became: how does the print media — magazines, to be exact — convey messages? Presently, my specific interests are: what are the social and cultural values communicated in the covers of niche magazines? How do the magazines employ fashion as an instrument of relaying specific messages? The purpose behind this body of work is the
Mass Media and Fashion 45 deciphering of fashion as a communication system, leading to an illustration of what is in fact being transmitted.
2.3. Hypothesis Magazines rely on fashionable elements as one of their primary means of transmitting values. In an attempt to further explore fashion’s communicative attributes, I deduce that magazine covers are a great media point to analyse. Considering that the cover is a vital piece of the magazine, it is safe to assume that the magazines insert effort into attractively presenting their covers; in other words, the social values they support and intend to relay can be found on their covers, which can be said to be their self-presentation tools. Using the research method that can be found below to examine data based on this part of the magazines, we can arrive at well-based conclusions of their social priorities based on the visual images presented by the magazine (print) media.
2.4. Methodology For the examination of the media’s role in fashion conceptions, my research methodology choice is content analysis which is a quantitative method. Among the other methods I considered were: focus group and survey. I eventually ruled them out because they require a lot of direct interaction with people on both an individual and a collective level. This fact led me to determine that the end results generated would unlikely be conclusive enough to arrive at (a) given notion(s) that would satisfactorily answer my research questions. Content analysis, being an unobtrusive method, will allow me to develop a collection of unbiased and conclusive information in regards to imagery, semiotics and also text implications. I use a grid as the main instrument for the content analysis because it provides the organised structure needed to be able to examine the explored components in an orderly manner. Bernard Berelson defined content analysis as: “A research
46 Fashion as a Means of Communication technique for the objective, systematic and quantitative description of the manifest content of communication.” (Berelson 1952, 18) In this application of the chosen research method, I intend to conduct a more qualitative analysis, allowing me identify patterns of accepted social and cultural norms within each chosen niche. The images analysed below are all covers of magazines. The motive behind the choice of the diverse magazines is to attempt to examine the purpose of fashion in each niche. Below you will find: religious, business, entertainment and fashion magazines. As my research went on, I found more and more repetitive elements in the styles and fashion representations by each niche. It is safe to say that, with time, the public is expectant of a certain kind of fashion representation from each and every one of these magazines. It is also safe to conclude that any divergence from their expected appearance would definitely attract attention and will very likely be noted by the public.
2.5. Data Presentation In order to have a smooth compilation of items, I conscientiously sourced data in the form of magazine covers from the following publications: ❱❱ “Vogue” (fashion magazine) ❱❱ “Watchtower” ( religious magazine) ❱❱ “Time” (news magazine) The data helped develop and understand a style pattern in the fashion communicated by the above media outlets. For “Time” and “Watchtower” I gathered my data directly from their official websites. The “Watchtower” covers are from the simplified-edition range offered by Jehovah’s Witnesses. As for “Vogue”, the data collection was done via an images search on Google, as well as via US “Vogue’s” official Facebook page. By using a comparative method, I shall illustrate the differences among the fashion choices for the covers of the above three magazines being used for this analysis.
Mass Media and Fashion 47 2.5.1. Vogue “Vogue” is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that has a world-wide presence; originating in America, today many countries around the world have their own “Vogue” publications such as “Vogue UK”, “Vogue Australia” and “Vogue Italy”. “Vogue U.S.A” has an 87% female-dominated audience, and 66% of their entire audience are college-educated. (Condé Nast 2017) 2.5.2. Watchtower According to the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ website, their bible-based magazines are available for download in over 200 languages, including sign languages. The “Watchtower” shows the significance of world events in the light of Bible prophecies. It comforts people with the good news of God’s kingdom and promotes faith in Jesus Christ. (Jehovah’s Witnesses n.d.) 2.5.3. Time Although “Time” Magazine was originally published solely in the United States of America, today there is currently a European edition as well as an Asian edition. Even though this thesis focuses on the American edition, in view of the culturally-diverse population within the country, it can be concluded that people of various religions and ethnicities live side by side. “Time” releases editions on a weekly basis; this tells us that it is well sought-after, otherwise the publication wouldn’t risk publishing that often if it resulted in more loss than profit.
2.6. Overview The above characteristics mentioned are the main reasons I chose these three magazines as the subjects of this research: all three deliver to and reach a worldwide scale of consumers, thus it is safe to say that values represented on the covers are globally understood at the most basic of levels. The three publications have well-run and functioning websites and not only offer tangible print versions of
48 Fashion as a Means of Communication their editions, but also online subscription options. All in all, the magazines represent clear niches with particular target audiences (as a side-note, it is important to remember that audiences can and do sometimes cross-over, but that would be a case-study for an entirely different research). “Time” magazine publishes more regularly than both “Vogue” and “Watchtower”. So, in order to acquire a neat data collection, I selected “Time’s” first editions of each month to match up against the “Vogues” and the “Watchtowers”. On another note, “Vogue” sometimes publishes bi-monthly (every two months). Having considered all of the above and in order to work with even statistics on all three, from each magazine I opted to assemble 20 covers that represent the first 10 months of the year (January–October), making the size of my sample 60 covers. In an attempt to ensure relevancy of the data (in terms of time sensitivity and contemporary awareness), the years in question are 2015 and 2016. Because the variables tracked are extensive, I consider the sum of the data gathered sufficient for the purpose of reaching a conclusive result about the values that are imparted.
2.7. Tracked Variables The variables were worked with using a numbering scale. As variables for the content analysis, I composed a set of elements that in one way or another carry fashionable implications and can be considered as expressive of fashionable choices. From a logical standpoint, the elements can be defined as linked to purposes of communication of either fashion items themselves or communication of other messages through the medium of said fashion items. Thus, they should allow the accumulation of definitive-enough statistics. They are the following: ❱❱ The number of persons on each cover in order to identify what or who the magazines want the audience to focus on. ❱❱ Following the above is the gender on the cover(s) to help understand who the magazine may be catering to. ❱❱ As a third variable there is make-up which, based on its presence or lack thereof, can give us insight to whether the magazine
Mass Media and Fashion 49
❱❱
❱❱
❱❱
❱❱
❱❱ ❱❱
and therefore their consumers consider make-up as an important statement not. The three categories are: no make-up, light make-up and heavy make-up. Light make-up, though apparent, is close to a natural look, whereas heavy makeup is determined by the make-up being significantly strong. Next is clothing style, which can bring to light the different messages of social status, job-type and so on that the magazines convey through their covers. There is a scale of 1-7 that breaks down the main styles of clothing. Note that I have incorporated ‘uniforms’ within number 7 on the scale (active attire). The fifth variable is hairstyle; this is indicated through length of hair (long, medium, short or bald) and showcases which length is deemed favourable by the magazine, translating into which length is deemed favourable by the magazine’s public. The sixth variable, most prominent text related to cover model or not, does not refer to the broadly-written title of the magazines (“Time”, “Vogue” and “Watchtower”). Instead, it covers whether the most prominent text on the cover (aside from the title) is connected to/about the cover model/image or not. This gives us a sense of the style of promotion employed by each magazine. Through this variable we also understand whether the publications use written text to aid their fashion statements. Sexuality is the seventh variable, and its purpose is to highlight the emphasis or non-emphasis of appearances of a sexual nature, determining whether they are in vogue (pun intended) or not. The scale is 1-5, 1 being the least sexual and 5 being overly, extremely sexual. Aside from the style of clothing, elements such as facial expression and body language are additional indicators of the level of sexuality portrayed. For the eighth variable the level of nudity is analysed mostly as a back-up instrument of the seventh variable above. Finally, the ninth variable is the type of shot which has the purpose of helping us understand how much and what exactly the magazine intends for us to see and focus on. The category of shots are: XLS=Extreme Long Shot, VLS=Very Long Shot, LS=Long Shot, MLS=Medium Long Shot, MS=Medium Shot, MCUp=Medium Close-Up, CU=Close-Up, BCU=Big Close-Up, XCU= Extreme Close-Up (Thompson and Bowen 2009, 13)
Chapter 3: DATA ANALYSIS
The instrument employed to examine the aforementioned variables is an analysis grid. The elements are examined using either numbers or “not applicable” where necessary. The final results are presented in the table below; the findings based on the elements came about by the use of average and percentage mathematical formulas. The instrument employed to examine the afore-mentioned variables is an analysis grid. The elements are examined using either numbers or “not applicable” where necessary. The final results are presented in the table below; the findings based on the elements came about by the use of average and percentage mathematical formulas.
3.1. Analysis Grid In the table on the following pages, I have summarised the variables using the average and percentage mathematical formulas. This way I was able to come to approximate conclusions for the three different magazines. In terms of communication, through each variable I noticed what is significant, neutral and insignificant for each publication.
54  Fashion as a Means of Communication Vogue
Watchtower
Time
Average Number of persons on cover
1.15
4.9
4.6
Dominant gender on cover
90% female 10% both
65% both 25% male 10% female
35% n/a 35% male 15% both 10% unclear 5% female
Make-up: no make-up=1 light makeup=2, heavy make-up=3
63.6% light make-up 27.3% heavy make-up 9.1% no make-up
56.5% no make-up 26.1% n/a 17.4% light make-up
55% n/a 40% no make-up 5% light make-up
Clothing styles: Formal=1, Semi-formal=2, informal=3, Business Casual=4,
68.2% semi-formal 13.6% active attire
59.3% casual 29.6% smart casual
57% n/a 19% casual 14.3 % active attire
Smart Casual=5, Casual=6, Active Attire=7
9.1% casual 4.5% smart casual 4.5% informal
11.1% active attire
9.5% semi-formal
Hairstyle: long hair=1, short hair=2, medium length=3, bald=4
39.1% long hair 30.4% short hair 21.7% medium length 8.7% n/a
48.5% short hair 24.2% long hair 9.1% medium length 9.1% bald 9.1% n/a
50% n/a 35% short hair 10% bald 5% long hair
Data Analysis   55 Most Prominent Text Related to Cover Model(s)=1 Not Related=2
75% not related 25% related
100% n/a
90% related 10% not related
Sexuality: 1-5 (1=not sexual, 5= extremely sexual)
35% 2 30% 4 20% 3 15% 1
100% 1
80% n/a 20% 1
Nudity: fullyclothed=1, scantily-clad=2, completely naked=3
70% fully clothed 30% scantily clad
100% fully-clothed
55% n/a 40% fully-clothed 5% scantily-clad
Type of Shot XLS=1, VLS=2, LS=3, MLS=4, MS=5, MCU=6,CU=7, BCU=8, XCUp=9
45% MS 25% MCU 10% LS 10% MLS 10% CU
100% LS
25% CU 15% VLS 15% LS 10% MS 10% MCU 10% BCU 10% XCU 5% MLS
3.2. Elements of the Analysis Grid A lot can be said in regards to the variables looked at during the research stage; in spite of my expectations, I found some results that surprised me. We shall break down the results so as to really expand on them as well as conduct a comparison amongst the three niche magazines and the respective social values they choose to put across. Below is the classification of each variable in chronological order, along with some sample covers.
56 Fashion as a Means of Communication Number of people on magazine cover: “Watchtower” shows a pattern in which the number of people on the cover is of importance. This can be understood by correlating it with the religion’s purpose, which is therefore the magazine’s purpose and message: unity and relationship with others (Jehovah’s Witnesses n.d.). Their global goal is to connect with as many people as possible. The main activity found on the covers is conversing through preaching; emphasis is placed on the number of people that appear on each publication; out of all data there is no cover that presents just one person.
Watchtower, September 2016 and Vogue, June 2016
For “Vogue”, most covers have one single model as the focus, intending that all image attention is directed to the model, while “Time” shows no set pattern on the choice of number of cover models, sometimes choosing to have no cover model at all. This shows that Time does not necessarily rely on a clear human presence on the cover to attract attention to their messages, rather their strength is in the writings. The first issue of the year 2016 released by “Time” contained over 50 faces, but it was clearly a oneoff which further cements the theory that “Time” has no regular pattern in regards to this variable.
Data Analysis 57
Time, July 2016
Dominant gender on the cover: “Vogue”, as we stated above, caters mostly to women; that being the case, it makes sense that the majority of the cover models are of the female gender. This way, being a women’s fashion magazine, mostly women are employed in presenting the latest trends and the publication is able to use the appearance of the cover models to showcase clothing, make-up and the likes to attract consumers. As for “Watchtower”, their interests lie in reaching out to both sexes which is obvious based on the fact that the majority of their covers show both male and female models; there are multiple individuals present on most covers through a more or less even representation of both sexes. Within the data of the last but not least publication, “Time”, due to the diversity of type of cover model (animate or inanimate objects) it was concluded that their illustrations are too inconsistent to create a straightforward summary. The two majorities are: covers presenting inanimate objects and covers presenting human male models (to be noted is the magazine’s preference of male cover models over female cover models). However, having taken a look at the above analysis grid, these majorities could easily waver. Keeping in mind that their niche is business-oriented, what is indeed conclusive is that the actual cover model is not their main mode of communication of messages; this variable
58 Fashion as a Means of Communication is further reviewed in the semiotic analysis. In the meantime, we begin to understand why “Time” operates this way from the other variables’ evaluation further below. Make-up: It is safe to say that the make-up looks are intended to attract an audience that finds the social values discussed in the literature review relevant and applicable in their lives. A scale of no make-up, light (natural) make-up and heavy (visible) make-up was used to assess the three magazines in question. Analysing “Vogue” as a fashion magazine, we can see that there is an emphasis on make-up, leading us to understand that they are communicating to their audience to value make-up, which in turn leads us to the conclusion that the audience considers make-up to be important. In the “Vogue” cover below, note the red backdrop as an aid in emphasizing the red lip worn by the cover model.
Vogue May, 2016 and Watchtower, August, 2016
Our religious magazine, however, does not expect and in fact does not encourage their consumers to value make-up, and I have come to this conclusion by seeing that make-up is hardly present in any of the magazine covers. While light make-up can be found on a small number of covers, it is clearly not a component that poses any importance for the purposes behind the magazine and the social values that the publication conveys. “Time” remains completely unique, in that this component is
Data Analysis 59 not even applicable to the majority of the covers analysed (see grid above). In reference to the covers in which make-up could be present, it is in fact absent. Lastly, a tiny 5% of the data perused consisted of the make-up element. Clothing Style: “Vogue’s” clothing choices are a large majority of semi-formal items which are clearly meant to stand out because they are intricate, vibrant and loud; as a fashion magazine, the attires on the cover definitely represent an important feature of the publication’s fields of interests and are thus intended to attract the attention of those who carry similar social values. “Watchtower”, manifesting mostly casual clothing items, showcases sometimes colourful and mostly modest garments that are simple and uncomplicated; this implies that their religious views do not lie in attaching significant importance to clothing styles in our daily lives. This is sensible considering that their niches are already carved out and said niches emulate what they are exposed to as the norm on different levels. “Watchtower” shows a lot of people in working environments also. The publication’s choices help make clear that anyone, no matter their social status (visible through their clothing styles or various job-types), can be a part of their community.
Vogue, October, 2016 and Watchtower, June, 2016
60 Fashion as a Means of Communication
Time, August, 2016
Again, “Time” shows a pattern of mostly disinterest in regards to clothing style, seeing as the variable is not even applicable to majority of their covers. This brings us to a point in which we note that this variable does not fall into the values and orientation of the magazine, as well as the fact that their continuous following of this pattern relays that their consumers are nothing less than satisfied with their presentations as they are. Hairstyle: Referring to our hairstyle statements in the literature review, we can see that “Vogue” values medium length hair and long hair because most of the cover models are seen wearing one of the two afore-mentioned, whereas “Watchtower” displays a majority of short hairstyles. From this we can gather that the values attached to long hair are not within the interest zone of the religious publication. Finally, “Time” once again is negligent where this social element is concerned, considering that it is not applicable to exactly half of the inspected covers due to the lack of human models. This cements a simple priority difference in comparison to the other two publications.
Data Analysis 61 Most prominent text: As stated earlier, “Time” showed a pattern in which it did not overly value the presence of a human model on their covers; of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and this is no different: there are a couple of covers that convey their message mostly using the model and the written text that refers to the model. “Time”, in this case, has a 90% applicability rate in which the most prominent texts relate to the cover model/object.
Time, January, 2016 and Vogue, February, 2016
For the first time, a variable is completely inapplicable to “Watchtower” magazine. On the 2016 covers studied, aside from the basic consistent texts that appear on each cover, there are no other texts, and certainly no texts relating to the cover models. Although there is a consistent occurrence of texts other than the magazine name on the 2015 covers examined, this variable still remains inapplicable because all said texts are of the exact same size on each cover, therefore no one is more prominent than the other. Moving on to “Vogue”: contrary to my expectations, the majority of “Vogue’s” most prominent texts do not relate to their cover model, but they are written to appear interesting, eye-catching and incite purchases. Ergo, it can be concluded that one aspect of the reasoning based on which the cover models are chosen is the expectation that their images will attract consumers without the help of text.
62 Fashion as a Means of Communication To sum up, Jonathan Bignell confirms the importance of the most prominent written text as a variable and in fact of written text in general through his words in Media Semiotics: “the categorisation of readers by age-group or relationship status (single or in a longterm relationship, for example) is used by magazine publishers and advertisers as a shorthand way of indicating the main issues discussed in the magazines’ editorial material, the kind of readers that magazines are thought to have, and the kind of products advertised in the magazines.” (Bignell 2002, 57) Sexuality: On a scale of 1-5 (1 being not at all sexual and 5 being extremely sexual), I measured the level of sexuality that comes across each publication’s covers, and again, while “Vogue” is on the more sexual end of the spectrum, “Watchtower” is on the other and “Time” remains nowhere near the scale.
Vogue, April, 2016 and Watchtower, April, 2016
“Vogue” displays a level 4 sexuality on the majority of the covers, showing that sexuality in itself as well as the expression of sexuality have significance within the institution’s ideals. “Watchtower” maintains level 1 throughout all the covers; the modesty of the clothes is definitely associated with the magazine’s religious values. As previously noted in the section in which the variables were interpreted, sexuality is inspected using not only clothing elements
Data Analysis 63 but also model positioning. This variable does not find its place in in most “Time” magazine covers. This lack of focus on and unimportance of sexuality narrows down the list of values attachable to “Time”. Nudity: This variable is closely related to that of sexuality. Although in the greater number of covers “Vogue” presented fully clothed models, the sexuality element was still exuded as we saw in our sexuality analysis. From this we can gather that sexuality is not always associated with nudity. In the case of “Watchtower”, sexuality and nudity correlate: a display of sexuality is absent and all models on all covers are fully clothed. This variable is again inapplicable to “Time”, as the larger percentage of the covers either did not have human models to begin with or the models were presented through close-up shots which restrict a full body view and therefore renders us incapable of viewing attires. Type of shot: The type of shot is relevant because a long/medium shot allows for a not-too-far and yet not-too-close view of the people on the cover, giving them personality, identity and relaying the number of people appearing, as well as revealing a little bit about their ambience.
Watchtower, February, 2016 and Vogue, July, 2016
64 Fashion as a Means of Communication For “Watchtower” that is all important, whereas “Vogue” applied mostly medium shots in order to showcase the items worn by/ on the cover model, since most cover backgrounds are back-drops. Referring back to make-up, on some occasions “Vogue” opted for a close-up shot which aids them in emphasising the facial features and of course the make-up worn by the cover model.
Time, May, 2016 and Time, September, 2016
“Time” also opted for some close-up shots, but more interestingly, no apparent pattern can be found in the choice of shot implementation: because their main cover attractions are irregular, “Time” applies different shot-types in almost every issue, depending on whether there is a human cover model or an inanimate object. Conclusively, this variable is 100% applicable but is also 100% pattern-less.
Chapter 4: SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS
4.1. Introduction: The Science of Semiotics For the purpose of correlating the different aspects of this thesis, an introduction of semiotics is in order. Early precursors of semiotics include Plato (428-348 BCE) and Aristotle (384-322 BCE). Before diving in, a necessary foundation needs to be laid: Introducing Semiotics by Paul Cobley and Litza Janz explains the etymological origin of the concept saying, “The word ‘semiotics comes from the Greek root seme, as in semesiotikos, an interpreter of signs. Semiotics as a discipline is simply the analysis of signs or the study of the functioning of sign systems.” The book continues, “The idea that sign systems are of great consequence is easy enough to grasp; yet, the recognition of the need to study sign systems is very much a modern phenomenon.” (Cobley and Jansz 1999, 4) One of the things that catapulted the study of signs into greater academic prominence in modern times was the emergence of mass media. Right from their conception, mass media institutions have created an instantaneous and globalised method of information dissemination. Unsurprisingly, they operate by exploiting signs and the influence signs have over people. As a consequence, it is appropriate to say that information is sent and received, therefore communicated, through signs. From the above, we can understand that the general public is likely unaware of the extent to which signs have an impact on their comprehension of visuals, seeing as the study of signs is relatively new.
70 Fashion as a Means of Communication Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913), renowned philologist and one of the fathers of semiotics, defined the linguistic sign as a two-sided identity (a dyad). One side he termed as the signifier, which is the thoroughly material aspect of the sign; it applies to signs in general. He continues by identifying the other side as the signified, which is inseparable from and engendered by the signifier. The signified is a mental concept. Saussure then gives us an example: “If we take the word ‘dog’ in English (made up of the signifiers /d/, /o/ and /g/, what is engendered for the hearer is not the real dog but a mental concept of ‘dogness’.” One hears and begins to think: canine, sharp teeth, fetches stick, waggly tail, barks or even man’s best friend, and not necessarily be conscious of the actual breed of dog being spoken about. (Cobley and Jansz 1999, 11) There are numerous illustrations that help grant a visual appreciation as well as aid in portraying the interconnection and interdependence of the abstract theory that is the Saussurean dual approach to semiotics. The inseparability of the signified — which is also known as the mental component of the concept — and the signifier — otherwise regarded as the material aspect of the concept — leads Ferdinand de Saussure to offer the following diagram (Cobley and Jansz 1999, 12):
Concept = signified, Sound/image = signifier
Although Saussure’s area of concern was linguistic sign, the rules apply to signs in general (Cobley and Jansz 1999, 10). Clearly, Saussure believes that the process of communication through language involves the transfer of the contents of minds (Cobley and Jansz 1999, 12). This would mean that, for communication to manifest successfully, the signs (Saussure refers to them as the code of the circuit between the communicating parties) would have to be
Semiotic Analysis 71 understood by all those participating in the communication process. Since our chosen magazine institutions disseminate either world-wide or at least within an inter-cultural environment, the above further strengthens the hypothesis that the social values communicated through the imagery carry semiotic meanings that are considered comprehendible on a global level. “The only reason that the signifier does entail the signified is because there is a conventional relationship at play. Agreed rules govern the relationship.” (Cobley and Jansz 1999, 14). However, the possibility of a lack of immediate comprehension is also explored by Saussure: “…if the sign does not contain a ‘natural’ relationship which signifies, then how is it that the signs function?” In this case, the sign signifies by virtue of its difference from other signs (Cobley and Jansz 1999, 14). In further dissection of symbolism under semiotics, colour is a powerful sign that sometimes means different things in different cultures, while other times it carries similar meaning across borders. Reasonably, remembering that our study subjects in question are magazines that cater to international audiences, their usage of colour will expectedly be in a manner of communication that transcends frontiers. As stated by Mario De Bortoli & Jesús Maroto in Colours across Cultures: Translating Colours in Interactive Marketing Communications, “The meanings associated with different colours are important to marketers because the tools used to communicate brand image are mechanisms of meaning transfer. If consumers associate specific meanings with individual colours and colour combinations, managers can select the colours that best fit their image strategy.” (De Bortoli and Maroto 2001, 7) In his book Media Semiotics, Jonathan Bignell brings up the fact that not all of a magazine’s readers will belong to the group which the magazine targets, so while a semiotic analysis might reveal that a particular magazine has an ‘ideal reader’ corresponding to the man or woman whose interests are targeted and shaped by a magazine, there will be a large number of non-‘ideal’ of the magazine’s signs and meanings. He continues that we cannot assume that a real reader corresponds to the reader we reconstruct from the ways in which a magazine’s codes operate. (Bignell 2002, 57)
72 Fashion as a Means of Communication
4.2. Semiotics in Fashion I believe that the correlation between fashion and semiotics appears sufficiently self-evident, given all of the above chapters and subchapters within this body of work. But, in order to ensure clarity, in Roland Barthes’ The Language of Fashion we are told that novelist and writer Alison Lurie, in a later edition of her study The Language of Clothes, maintains: “sociologists tell us that fashion too is a language of signs… and Roland Barthes… speaks of theatrical dress as a kind of writing… None of these theorists, however, have gone on to remark what seems obvious: that if clothing is a language then it must have a vocabulary and grammar like other languages.” Barthes thesis is said to be that fashion, as a written phenomenon, does have a vocabulary and grammar, and this is exactly what his book Fashion System set out to analyse. (Barthes 2013, 114) “Barthes was one of the first to deploy semiology to the study of fashion… and it could be argued furthermore that it was his use of semiological method — the division of the means of communication between humans into signs, and then into the sign’s constituent parts, the signifier and signified — that was bound to lead to his view that fashion was a language, with a vocabulary and grammar” (Barthes 2013, 114). Although largely mentioned is the clothing sub-category of fashion, semiological characteristics are limitlessly present in fashion as a phenomenon. In its afterword, The Language of Fashion brings forth the relationship of structuralism and semiology as more than mere historical conjuncture: both mobilise the key human paradox that social and human phenomena, in the manner in which they act as communicators between humans, combine the arbitrariness of form with the rigour of context. (Barthes 2013, 125) Malcom Barnard reinforces Saussure’s above-mentioned ‘code of the circuit’ in his own book Fashion as Communication, dedicating a full chapter to fashion through semiotics. In the book’s subchapter Semiological Accounts of Meaning, he says that a code is a set of shared rules that connects the signifiers with signifieds; if the code is unknown, then there is likely to be uncertainty as to what the particular signifier is signifying. Barnard provides, among others, the following examples: “pink booties will usually signify that the baby wearing them is a girl, while blue booties
Semiotic Analysis 73 will signify that the wearer is a boy; the colours themselves are not any sex at all, but are used to signify or stand for one sex or the other. The shapes, tone and colours that are found in fashion drawings and photographs may be explained as signifiers of what the drawings and photographs are drawings and photographs of.” (Barnad 2002, 82) Following the analysis of variable after variable and comparison of their importance in the three magazines in terms of appearance, repetition and relevance, it is only fitting that a deconstruction of the semiotic implications that are undoubtedly imbedded in the visual images on the covers be carried out. Below, we shall take a look at the semiological meanings and individual representations of our established components visible on one cover of each magazine (with the exception of “Time” from which we extract two covers to analyse). As Bignell states, “…a semiotic analysis begins by discussing the way that the signs and codes of magazines construct mythic social meanings…” (Bignell 2002, 59) Even though Bignell’s focus is the social meanings of masculinity and femininity, this method of analysis can be applied to any encoded social meaning. “The imaginaries coded in magazines are also ideological, since the connotations of the magazine’s signs construct mythic pleasurable identities for real men and women to identify with.” (Bignell 2002, 70)
74 Fashion as a Means of Communication
4.3. Vogue
“Vogue” is well known as a fashion and entertainment magazine house. As expressed in previous chapters, the majority of its customer-base is of the female gender. It is also widely known that fashion as a phenomenon caters mostly to women (a fact based on the existence of the vast clothing categories, colours, make-up, hairstyles and much more). From this we can gather an understanding as to why most cover models are female. This particular cover, in my opinion, carries the majority of our variables. In view of this, I chose it because the variables are more present than not in the “Vogue” overall data. The importance of make-up to the magazine is present below; Taylor Swift, the cover model, has on a strong red lip and has a full face of make-up on. The red background is plain in order to keep attention on Taylor, and it is red in order to help the lipstick pop even more. The colour red is attractive and draws attention to her lips and the backdrop leads the eyes to her body. It is a stronger backdrop
Semiotic Analysis 75 than white for example, because although it reflects attention to the model, it does so while creating a preconception of the model that white can’t create. It is a colour considered energetic and can represent excitement, warning, sex, passion, adultery, safety, rescue, hot, spicy among other things. (De Bortoli and Maroto 2001, 15) Red is chosen because of its strong and ample appearance. Understandably, the writings are in white because white stands out well against red. Interestingly, the magazine name is in a metallic silver which means that it is not intended to receive strong notice; this relays that the publication expects instant recognition by its usual audience without needing to accentuate its name too much. Remaining on the subject of the cover lines, the most prominent one is about Taylor, although to be fair I believe that even if it wasn’t, consumers would still be interested because Taylor speaks for herself. The writing, “Who’s that girl? Taylor Swift. As you’ve never seen her before” is meant to help attract reader; help lure the consumer to view Taylor and read the interview on her inside the magazine. Let us now look at clothing: clothing strongly correlates with sexuality and nudity in this cover. The model is scantily clad with a low-cut spaghetti-strap mini slip dress which indicates sexuality emphasis as well as slight nudity. Taylor is then positioned in a sexual pose: her arms ever-so-slightly pressing her breasts together; her hands resting in between her thighs; one leg raised and crossed over the other. From her facial expression to her body language, she gives off an air of a confident sexy woman. The black leather shoes she has on give a sleek close to her outfit and, due to their simplicity, allow for attention to be focused on the rest of her body. All the elements employed help project Taylor in a sensual light. She dons a light piece of clothing that not only sparkles and in fact appears sheer, but it is also cut out in areas that generates awareness of the female features of her figure. Red is a key component to the overall image. “Associations like active, hot and vibrant are connected to red.” (De Bortoli and Maroto 2001, 9) Taylor Swift has generally been projected not as the average “girl next door” but as the “sexy girl next door”. This is apparent not only in her appearance but also in the wording on the cover, “Who’s that girl?” Furthermore, we can see the sensuality in it all from the fact that she stares straight at the reader with piercing
76 Fashion as a Means of Communication blue eyes, very blonde hair and very red lips which are common characteristics of the standard model of beauty. Her arms and legs are crossed strategically, protecting her genital region and overall she has a coy posture. Her partly open mouth represents an implicit invitation; all in all, she is depicted as a combination of a downto-earth, approachable standard model of beauty.
4.4. Watchtower
For this semiotic analysis, I have chosen the September 2016 “Watchtower” cover, because I feel that it incorporates most of the important values and messages that the religious magazine tries to convey. As a Christian magazine, it is reasonable to draw the conclusion from all the data gathered so far and from “Watchtower’s” self-portrayal, that the end goal is the spreading of the word of God. This is a visible aim on all covers, bearing in mind the
Semiotic Analysis 77 constant in all images: people approaching others, showing them something which represents the word of God. On this cover, there are five people of different age groups and social distinctions. The mix of age is important because the magazine is conveying that their teachings are not restricted to adults only or children only; rather, anyone can learn and come closer to God. As for social distinction, we see a difference between the people that allows us pinpoint the visitors and the locals: the visitors are dressed in clothes that appear more expensive than those that the indigenes have on, giving the impression that no matter one’s lower status, God still loves them, while still emphasizing the lower status. This message is found in all their covers: unity, communication and getting along despite differences in social status, through the one thing that supposedly brings us all together: God. The emphasis is that God does not discriminate based on trivial things that the world puts value in, such as social class, level of wealth or rural or urban living (note the background in which the people are photographed). Also noticeable is the device which the newcomers bring and on which they appear to show the locals their message. This device simultaneously symbolises that religion is still relevant in this day and age. The locals are meanwhile clearly living the rural life, dressed in simpler clothes and handling a bucket, but there is no intimidation in the interaction and they are welcoming to what the visitors have to say; they all appear to listen attentively. Also relevant are the following signifiers: the fact that they are standing in water which references the tales of Jesus that include him walking on water or getting baptised by John, as well as shows that the visitors immediately conform to the local lifestyle and this again shows that they do not consider themselves superior; the smiles and generally happy looks on both the visitors and locals’ faces imply euphoria and positivity when worshipping God, and the green vegetation symbolises God’s generosity and sense of prosperity. Another important component is the multitude of colours visible on the cover: De Bortoli and Maroto tell us that blue, green and white are associated with calming, gentle and peaceful notions. (De Bortoli and Maroto 2001, 10). These are notions that religion
78 Fashion as a Means of Communication promotes. The colours are in vibrant shades and they can be a representation of a cheery atmosphere; bright colours bring happiness as opposed to darker shades. The grass in the background is a vibrant green as opposed to a dry brown. Conclusively, the atmosphere is friendly, bright and potentially unlocking the route to God. That is to be expected within the magazine; the cover lets one know what one should expect to find when one reads it.
4.5. Time As we have noted, our business-oriented magazine “Time” illustrates a high level of inconsistency in regards to the type of cover model that they choose to display on their covers. One may even argue that the covers lacking animate objects (whether human or animal) as models are entirely lacking of cover models. The presence of a well-identifiable person is not of utmost importance, seeing as quite a large number of covers were human-less, and in fact on some covers (though few) that do have human models, little to no emphasis is placed on the human presented. Of course, we cannot leave out the covers that do indeed exist clearly for the purpose of emphasising the human cover model. As we can recall from our findings after the interpretation of the data, “Time’s” characteristics are based on irregular presentation choices: ❱❱ There is no consistent type of cover model (sometimes animate, sometimes inanimate) ❱❱ The number of cover models per cover is fluctuant ❱❱ The type of shot varies greatly from cover to cover As a result of this evaluation, I have assessed that where “Time” is concerned, it is fitting to conduct two semiotic reviews of two covers: one consisting of an inanimate model and another which puts the human model in the centre of attention. “Time” publishes editions on a weekly basis, and so the covers we have here are the editions of the first week of June, 2016 and the first week of October, 2015 respectively.
Semiotic Analysis 79 4.5.1. Time cover: inanimate model
As per usual, in this cover we have “TIME” written in red and in capital letters at the top of the cover (depending on the cover, the colour differs). “Time” makes a standard appearance on every cover, as the title of the magazine house. Another standard element is the month, date and year of release located usually at the top right corner. This particular cover is quite plain. Aside from the model-objects and a side headline write-up, the cover is blank. The backdrop is white encased by a red rectangular frame. The red outside the white is thin and, being a strong colour, is used as the exterior so as to emphasize the interior; the red framing as well as the magazine name in red emphasize the whiteness. White, known for its simplicity, is used in order to ensure attention on the objects of importance. We have inanimate objects as the ‘models’ of the cover: two silvery rings interlocked with a bronzy heart-shaped padlock. The rings appear to be wedding bands, symbolising love, wedding and marriage. The padlock in some ways represents a juxtaposition in the sense that padlocks are usually signs of restrictions, lack of freedom and ultimately forced everlasting love. However, the heart shape
80 Fashion as a Means of Communication allows for a bend in the usual meaning of a lock, so that helps keep the focus on (eternal) love. The written text further elucidates the reason behind the choice of objects, stating, “How to stay married (and why).” What we can take away from this cover is that advice on marriage is given within the magazine, so if one wishes to read inspiring words on the issue they would purchase a copy. “Time” employs semiotic meaning in its colour use, object choices and general, minimal illustrations. The magazine house considers that a cover as simple as this is a satisfactory and an adequate representation of the content within the entire edition. “Time” is confident in its simplicity and clearly believes that its values are not lost in such an understated arrangement of its appearance. The targeted consumer base follows the publication in awareness of its style and communication methods, therefore the magazine’s outreach is unlikely hurt. 4.5.2. Time cover: human model as primary focus
This cover was selected to represent “Time’s” human-model covers because of the common characteristics it shares with that of the previously analysed one that represented covers with inanimate
Semiotic Analysis 81 objects. Expectedly, the standard elements repeat themselves (magazine house name, month, date and year of release). Moving on to non-standard elements that reiterate on both covers, “Time” employs similar semiotic choices in colour, text and general minimalism. This can help us conclude that “Time’s” semiotic applications are carried out regardless of the nature of the ‘cover model’. Written text as a communication tool is utilized just as minimally here as in the previous cover, showing that “Time” does not heavily rely on it as a message-conveyer. The red framing does the same job in this cover as in the previous one (zeroing in the focus on the interior). The magazine name “Time” written in white contributes to the peaceful vibe of the cover, and the overall white layout allows the cover model — in this case, the Pope — to be the main attraction. Returning to De Bortoli and Maroto, “…colour can be a critical factor in communication and the power that it can exert on perception…” (De Bortoli and Maroto 2001, 12). The point they made about blue, green and white being associated with calming, gentle and peaceful notions can be reiterated because, in reference to the colour white, it is valid here. The Pope is the ultimate signification of religion — more specifically, Catholicism. Keeping that in mind while continuing the train of thought regarding the colour white, it is evident that the white background and white clothing represent peace; holy men and women of the cross such as nuns and reverend fathers usually wear white, and Jesus is also often depicted as wearing white. Christianity, despite its rocky history, considers one of its fundamental principles to be: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself (Leviticus 19:18). Also relevant to our analysis is what the written text says (‘Pope Francis meets America’) and the postural stance the Pope has taken. It can be surmised from the text that the Pope visited or is yet to visit America. I have brought all this up because the Pope is depicted with a friendly and welcoming smile on his face as we are to imagine he is looking down at the people of America. His open-armed position allows us to feel that he — and ultimately Christianity as a religious institution — is approachable. As the most holy father of Christianity, a pope is usually seen as holy royalty (obviously due to the fact that he is the monarch of Vatican City), which can help explain the fact that he looks downwards at America; the look is not condescending but fatherly.
82 Fashion as a Means of Communication The crucifix around the Pope’s neck is interestingly silver and not gold, so as not to draw attention to itself in the chromatic context. His clothes are further representative of Christianity, which is definitely the biggest message being relayed by this cover. Hardly any values aside from religious ones can be said to be visible on this cover. “Time’s” intended news behind this cover is the emphasis on the Pope, religion and America, and this purpose comes across clearly.
Chapter 5: CONCLUSIONS
5.1. Data Results Evidently, a full and complete reflection of our media subjects based on the perused data is unfeasible and impractical. Nevertheless, an idea of the three media houses’ portrayal of fashion (and the intentions behind each style of portrayal) is constructible. In fact, said idea has subsequently been fashioned (pun intended) out of the statistics given. In summary, the media outlets decide on objectives and then target specific demographics that their content design is likely to appeal to. Then, having secured their place in the market by securing a target group, the outlets develop a pattern and maintain said pattern, breaking it only if it is presumed to not be detrimental to the influential power they possess. Fashion is simply one of the principle mediums employed in their communication tactics. “Vogue’s” very purpose of existence is fashion-based, therefore fashion is not only a method of communication but in fact it is that which is being communicated. The magazine’s audience can be generalised as thriving in the fashion world, uninterested in living with only the basic essentials that one needs to survive, and simply refusing to subsist sans fashion and its connotations; to this percentage of the public, fashion is a profound part of their existence. They believe it to be rightfully one of the major parts of life. These readers value what “Vogue” delivers in each edition: presenting fashionable news and providing the latest information, trends and brands’ development, as well as the involvement of celebrities
88 Fashion as a Means of Communication in the world of fashion (for instance: magazines photographing celebrities for the cover or brands using celebrities for campaigns which are then featured in the magazine). The audience’s interests revolve greatly around what “Vogue” offers. As for “Watchtower”, considering that the representation of fashion is rather minimal in the sense that it is repetitive and lacks innovative demonstration, it can be deduced that the magazine disregards fashion and any supposed importance it may carry. It is also deducible that for their carved-out audience, keeping up-todate with fashion is not a necessity; these consumers, as opposed to the ones in the above paragraph, are most likely to purchase only the items that are imperative in order to live comfortably; nothing more, nothing less; just enough to get by on. They are also likely to purchase items based on what they personally like (colours, prints) and not necessarily what is trending, while still adhering to the Christian dressing values that “Watchtower” promotes (an example would be for the preference towards skirts and dresses for women over trousers which is noted on majority of the scanned covers). Ultimately, fashion is still primarily utilised in communicating, just that it is presented through an angle on the opposite end of the spectrum across from “Vogue”. Out of the three media houses, “Time” exhibits the least interest in employing fashionable elements; the institution only uses fashion-related details when it deems it necessary which, given the statistics, it seldom does. Therefore, “Time” notably uses fashion as a secondary/tertiary communication element; it is important only in that it helps relay the more important values they present to their consumers. The magazine’s inconsistency regarding the application of the discussed variables can be said to have become a pattern in itself. “Time’s” behaviour slightly refutes my hypothesis, and I use the word slightly because, even though the institution applies fashion as a communication instrument significantly less often than the other two, there are still instances in which fashion is utilised to serve communication purposes. Coming to the end of this research, we have explored the intended meanings of fashionable elements in certain contexts and also in relation to each other and to other objects. The clear result is that, depending on their objectives and target audience, each magazine maintains a relatively consistent pattern in expressing
Conclusions 89 significantly different social values that should be and would be well-received by their specific customer base. More precisely, my findings boil down to the different niches valuing different things. This can be translated into meaning that their different audiences have and believe in the respective values the publications convey. Not only that, but I also discovered that magazines operate with a continuous pattern in which they display the same or similar values. From this, the conclusion can be drawn that the target audiences have a continuous expectation from the publications; the expectations remain the same because the consumers maintain a lifestyle in which their values remain applicable. The magazines try to maintain a consistent presentation of their publications so as to maintain the consistent interests of their consumers. The three niche magazines follow different strategies as pertains to the implementations of the variables examined; their priorities differ significantly. Variables that do surface on “Vogue” and “Watchtower” are usually on opposite ends of the spectrum, whereas “Time” appears to not at all value the majority of the elements studied as essentials for passing their points across. This is understandable because of their clear indulgence of specific audiences that already have established expectations of what to be ‘fed’ by the publications, and this brings us back to the part where I agreed with what Goldsmith, Ronald E., Heitmeyer, Jeanne R. et al. had to say about interest in and therefore purchase of new fashions being responses to a variety of social and psychological forces; we as a society impose values of certain natures on ourselves. Notably, from the set of definitions of fashion by G.B. Sproles mentioned chapter 1, the last of the set (given by Professor King) corresponds with the media aspect of this research: a chosen media type — be it text, radio or television — is usually employed to commercially introduce a new product to the public. In other words, magazines display products in exchange for remuneration through their texts and images. The same is applicable to other media items; for example, product placement could also be found within a movie or a music video. This supplements the hypotheses that fashion is a medium of communication and in turn is communicated through the media.
90 Fashion as a Means of Communication
5.2. Female Gender Portrayal: Feminism Point of View In a major and significant bracket, I would like to address the implications of the components from a feminist standpoint. The community forces upon us certain beliefs and values regarding the way a woman should be. Referring to our examined items, “Time” magazine once again provided inconclusive data for this subject matter, and “Watchtower” also lacked sufficient reoccurrences in order to draw conclusions. In “Vogue”, however, we see that sexuality and physical features in general is what is considered very important in the way a woman presents herself; therefore, the enhancing of those features using make-up, particular clothing attire, daring poses and more. What “Watchtower” did is to present the opposite as the ideal woman: modest clothing, minimal/no make-up and a different aura around her in general. This presentation is backed up by the biblical teachings “Watchtower” sustains. “Watchtower” is in fact a media product made by a Christian denomination as one of the means of delivering their beliefs. With this in mind, a completely separate interpretation from that of “Vogue” is essential. But, as such an interpretation is likely to deviate from the main topic of this book, it shall be left for another time. For the purposes of this book, the interpretations offered shall be limited to the contents of this subchapter. In view of the reasonable conclusion that “Vogue” magazine (and other magazines in general), based on previously-conducted research on consumer preferences, depicts the models and in general formulates its cover schemes according to what its consumers would like, my applicable hypothesis is: the media capitalises on certain pre-existing notions (sexuality, clothing choices, posture positions and so on) regarding the female gender and therefore further amplifies said notions, especially given the large audience that assimilates the information. I venture further to say that the media also contructs its own notions that, again due to the large audiencesm catch on and become the norm. This hypothesis is of a unique nature in the following sense: either direction in which the collected and studied data swings — i.e, whether the media does capitalise on the findings of its market
Conclusions 91 research or not — it is still accurate because what would prove it is the simple fact of majority of the statistics leaning towards one end or the other (whichever end it actually is remains irrelevant). The only way it can be wrong is if there is no majority swing in either direction but in fact a balance; this balance would mean an inconsistency in the publishing style, which would then disprove the motivation behind “Vogue’s” actions and would raise the question of whether the magazine conducted any research and the further question of if the magazine’s consumer base even has any expressed preferences. Our “Vogue” data clearly swung towards the end of the spectrum that portrays women in a more sensual light and as more of a physical attraction rather than an intellectual being. This portrayal is not limited to “Vogue” but is in fact visible in almost every direction one turns. It is an issue among the many issues that feminists are known to speak up on. Although the cover models agree to it, many feminists try to dispel the notion that encourages this ideology. There are many considerations of feminism and the concept is sometimes approached differently by different people. In my view, there is only one feminism, and that is the fact that each woman’s lifestyle is ultimately her choice to make. Actress, United Nations ambassador and feminism activist Emma Watson has a similar view. She was recently criticised and accused of anti-feminism because she posed in a see-through top for the March 2017 cover of “Vanity Fair” magazine. She responded to the backlash by stating that “Feminism is about giving women a choice. Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women with. It’s about freedom, it’s about liberation. It’s about equality.” She carries on to say that she doesn’t understand what her breasts have to do with feminism. (Sharman 2017) From this, it stems that these critics have boxed themselves into certain criteria, and only in those criteria do they feel that they (or anyone else) can be a feminist. These critics have strict understandings: “You can’t be a feminist if you partake in so and so…” and these “rules” simply create more unnecessary categories. It is essentially one more way of judging those who willingly make the choice to live life a certain way. But as long as the choice is theirs and not due to societal pressure, it should be respected. As long as the choice does not bring harm to others, it should be tolerated.
92 Fashion as a Means of Communication Women are being told how to live left and right. I consider myself a feminist, and my personal interpretation, understanding and application of the notion of feminism is that it is advocacy for choice; the ever-so-coveted choice should remain a product of a woman’s wants, and whichever the choice made, equality between the genders should never waver. As long as a choice is reflective of a person’s wants, and not due to societal pressure, it should be respected. As long as a choice does not bring harm to others, it should be accepted and tolerated. By this, I mean that a woman can decide her destiny, choosing to be what she wants (housewife or judge) and choosing to express herself whichever way she pleases (nudity or modesty) without the judgemental stereotypes that follow either extreme. If women choose to present themselves a in certain way, then it is very much their prerogative. Just as importantly, it should not then be forced upon all women as the norm and as the general way of viewing the female gender. Realistically, it is impossible to completely eliminate negative stereotypes and in fact many stereotypes stem from truths (not just stereotypes referring to women but also general ones about different people from different walks of life). However, some of these preconceived notions are unfortunately harmful and should indeed reach the point of abrogation. Returning on-topic, they are harmful because they hinder evolution and stomp growth as a gender and as a society. Noteworthy is the fact that, despite what some think, feminism is not in any way restricted to women. A feminist can be anyone who promotes gender equality and unity in society. A feminist values and respects women and men equally. The fundamental problem however, is that women are expected to behave and dress in certain ways depending on their community. “…Being feminine is a mythic identity constructed by the coded connotations of signs in society.” (Bignell 2002, 60) Magazines’ implications in this are not as light as one may think. Jonathan Bignell reveals that there is a position hollowed out by the codes of women’s magazines, and real women fit themselves into this position as individual subjects. In positioning themselves as subjects in this way, women become subject to the ideologies encoded in women’s magazines. (Bignell 2002, 60) When women then choose to make choices outside these encoded ideologies, those choices are usually not respected; society
Conclusions 93 judges as a collective, and so do men and women individually; men and women conditioned into thinking a certain way about a woman’s general appearance and behaviour. Granted, judgement as a general phenomenon is unavoidable, but its execution should not be centred on gender. This problem stems from upbringing and the transfer from generation to generation of the same old values that perhaps suited the world at a certain point in time but should urgently be updated. The fight for women’s suffrage by Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and many more in the last couple of centuries; the ongoing fight demanding equal pay for equal work regardless of gender; the elimination of pressure on women to look a certain way, dress a certain way, have a certain role, have a certain type of hair, etc.; these are feminism issues. The point is to advocate freedom of choice, and it is indeed proving very difficult as even amongst the self-proclaimed feminists the concept differs. The magazines in question are simply taking advantage of society’s preconceived notions of the female gender and continuing to roll with it in order to satisfy their respective consumer factions. This is proof that those who actively support the change of said notions are still in the minority, as magazines and media establishments in general would always want to cater to the majority. This system employed by the magazines (and other media institutions) has proven profitable because it is based on already-contrived values that greatly contribute to the way society operates. This means that, based on the cycle in which the new members of society are taught by the old members, the values may undergo slight changes over the years but all in all remain largely the same. Understandably, the media houses give the public what it wants. This process, which the media profits off and in turn promotes in order to maintain profit, does not improve the consistently discriminated existence women find themselves living because society continuously carries certain detrimental beliefs. “We cannot assume that the representations of masculine or feminine identity found in women and men’s magazines accurately reflect the lives and identities of real men or women. Representations are composed of signs which are meaningful because they belong to socially accepted codes which readers can recognise and decode.” (Bignell 2002, 59).
94 Fashion as a Means of Communication Bignell continues that conscious choices, intentions and beliefs are seen as the effects of women’s ideologically-produced subject-position, rather than being freely chosen. (Bignell 2002, 60) He also states that ideology is a site of struggle, where opposition and critique always threaten the edifice of naturalisation and conformity. (Bignell 2002, 61). In our case, this is a positive element, because such bias as is currently circulating affects thought construction in adults and, more importantly, in children. The solution that can help rid the world of at least some harmful stereotypes lies in the reorientation of the future generations to come. Re-orientation of the young ones can be effective in the long run and as can be seen from previous paragraphs, requires the involvement of not only family and the educational system but also the media institutions. Not only do families and schools have to try to bring up the young ones in an enlightened manner to ensure open-mindedness in areas that matter, but so do media establishments, because today family and school are no longer the only role-models, mentros and general inspirational figures for children. These days, children are brought up by what they see around them, not only within their homes and classrooms but also on the television, on the internet, in magazines and so many other mediums of communication. If certain gender portrayals continue appearing as the ‘norm’, the ideology will grow within the youth and become their lifestyle, looping us all in a constant cycle. Therefore, active change is necessary and of course the way change can be effected differs; it is distinctive depending on the degree of existing stereotypes within each household, each educational unit and each media outlet. In any case, even though the results will take a long time to manifest (most likely re-orientation of a substantial number of future generations), one thing is for sure: the acts of change must be proactive and consistent in order to achieve the desired, healthier result. It must be noted here that many media establishments are already helping implement this change, including “Vogue” and “Time”. These establishments exhibit positive values through their different channels (magazine, radio, television, etc.); values that show that women are equal to men and are very much entitled to appear and behave as they please. This can be seen in the growing celebration of prominent and influential women in our society
Conclusions 95 (who have large followings all over the world) and in the showcasing of their accomplishments. This in turn motivates the public — more specifically the female audience — and spreads positivity and confidence. The media continues to prove influential in shaping the youth as it maintains a large captivated audience worldwide.
5.3. Role of Fashion in our Society Fashion transcends beyond the primary practical purpose for which it was invented in the first place. Beyond bodily protection, clothing, footwear, headgear, etc., fashion has become so very powerful in unfailingly and perennially relaying messages. Furthermore, not only does it have this outstanding ability, but it has become second nature to expect to see messages through these fashionable items; it has become imbedded in our subconscious to encounter the information; we anticipate to be communicated with. ‘Fashion Media; past and present’ continued explaining that, despite communication theorist Marshall McLuhan’s under-determination of fashion, a media theory of fashion can be developed on the fundament of writings with the help of another term: art (Bartlett, Cole and Rocamora 2013, 112). Art is in essence intended to communicate the artist’s vision. When a person looks at art, he or she attempts to interpret it in his or her own way or adopt the already-existing interpretation of said artwork. In the same way, fashion is looked at/beheld with the intention of understanding something through it. In most cases, the appreciation of it reflects the preconceived notions of styles of fashion rather than new and unaccustomed conclusions. I can add the following concrete examples: understanding of prison attire — the worldwide perception of prison wear and its expected recognition on the Halloween holiday as a costume. There is also the division of items by colour: a blue hat for a boy versus a pink hat for a girl. Another instance: in most cultures it is the norm that men do not partake in skirt-wearing, so we are hardly to find any men wearing skirts, unless for exactly the purpose of defying the norm to introduce a moment of rebellion. Lastly let’s review make-up: it is highly unlikely to find the majority of male society members around the world putting on any form of make-up.
96 Fashion as a Means of Communication Granted, today liberalism allows more individuals to come out into the open and indulge in their unconventional choices, but the general norms still stand in place. In actuality, the main underlying purpose of this entire research paper is to showcase how significant fashion is: fashion is so important that even the way people are thought of depends heavily on it: the society has based its general/public opinion of humans on fashion, so much so that it is now common understanding — and knowledge, if you will — that certain ways of dressing define the type of person you are — and here I am not referring to ‘personality type’, but, for instance, to what you do, where you are from, if you are more of a religious person or even what religion you follow. Religion itself has adapted into its rules the ways a woman, for example, should and should not dress and even consequences she would face if she does not comply with said rules. Another example: the kind of clothing a woman has on and even the number of clothing items she may be sporting can be considered enough information to be able to define her. The fact of the matter is that fashion is viewed by the majority of the world as more of a ‘female thing’, though some men and even some women would and do beg to differ. It should be noted though, that many renowned names in fashion are those of men, though most of their works were and are being produced for women. Barbara Vinken’s thoughts on the matter are as follows: “The discourse on fashion is constructed by the correlation of three major conceptual articulations: the division of being and mere appearance; the division of the sexes; and — inseparably linked to the latter — the division of the classes.” (Vinken 2005, 13) She goes on to say that the paradigm of the division of the sexes has allowed itself to be joined to the issue of class just as easily as the moral condemnation of vanity let itself be joined to the philosophical suspicion of mere appearance. (Vinken 2005, 13) So, fashion is more produced for the female gender, though at the end of the day both genders are consumers, as everyone applies the rules of fashion and makes judgments based on fashion. Although potentially leaning towards a parallel fashion-related discussion, it would be wrong not to also state that fashion incorporates more than just the aspects of it that we have brought to light within this body of work. It is common knowledge that the
Conclusions 97 term ‘fashionable’ can be used to describe activities; events; places; cuisine, and so on and so forth. Simply put, while maintaining its most prominent meaning, there are no limits to how one can reference fashion. I believe it already strongly defended that fashion’s appearance in more or less every aspect of life as we know it is a steady and even expected one. It can be seen very clearly in our day-to-day lives; it is not just a hobby-like interest, but it boosts our psyche and contributes to our feelings and moods all the time. Fashion affects the attitude of most people towards both themselves and others, though many would deny it. The denial, however, is normally contradicted by our own consumption habits — and as such it is a phenomenon that ought to be central to our attempts to understand ourselves in our historical situation. (Svendsen 2006, 9) The way in which the world and the various cultures occupying it view fashion is and has always been susceptible to change over time. Fashion has taken many forms over the centuries, changing at a constant pace; the way women dress, the way men dress; the way cultures interchange traditional dressing customs; the way people are branded depending on their dressing, and so on and so forth. The amazing thing is that most of these thoughts we have on fashion are simply that: thoughts. Yet, they have incredible impacts on our reality. Our subconscious leads our conscious dominantly yet quietly, and we do things and act the way we do in regards to fashion not fully aware why and most of the time not questioning it. That is how powerful and influential fashion is; and it may only become more and more so with time. Consequently, fashion, as a grand phenomenon that plays many roles in society, is dynamic. Hence, there are continually
“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” —Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel
new and regular diversifications of the notion. It will always be the subject of intense sociological and communicative analysis. This dynamism is a permanent characteristic that can be considered a consistent tool to help in fashion identification and category-placement. Fashion’s dynamism is inevitable, which can only mean that studying it will always be perpetual.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Books and Journals Allman, J. (2004). Fashioning Africa. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Arvanitidou, Z. a. (2011). Fashion, Gender and Social Identity. London: In First Fashion Colloquia. Barnad, M. (2002). Fashion as Communication. London: Routledge. Barthes, R. (2013). The Language of Fashion. London: Bloomsbury Academic. Bartlett, D., Cole, S., & Rocamora, A. (2013). Fashion Media; Past and Present. London: Bloomsbury. Bignell, J. (2002). Media Semiotics. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Cobley, P., & Jansz, L. (1999). Introducing Semiotics. Cambridge: Icon Books Ltd. Downes, B., & Miller, S. (1998). Media Studies. London: Hodder Headline. Havârneanu, G. M. (2012). The perceived causes of severe traffic accidents: a psychosocial. Procedia–Social and Behavioral Sciences, 428–432. Goldsmith, R. E., Heitmeyer, J. R., & Freiden, J. B. (2016). Social Values and Fashion Leadership. Kawamura, Y. (2005). Fashion-ology. New York: Berg. Kitch, C. (2001). The Girl on the Magazine Cover. The University of North Carolina Press. Kitzinger, J. (1999). Researching risk and the media. In Kitzinger, Health, Risk & Society (pp. 55-69). London: Routledge. Laughey, D. (2007). Key Themes in Media Theory. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill. Littlejohn, S. W., & Foss, K. A. (2009). Mass Communication Theories, Encyclopedia of Communication Theory. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications. Mesko, N., & Bereczkei, T. (2004). Human Nature. Hairstyle as an adaptive means of displaying phenotypic quality, 251. Ortiz, Á. I. (2013). Spectatorship and visual evidence of violence in Mexico: When the right to information becomes
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104 Fashion as a Means of Communication Websites and Electronic Resources BBC. (n.d.). On This Day. Retrieved March 23, 2017, from http:// news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/1/ newsid_2492000/2492775.stm Bender, R. G. (2016, June 15). Yahoo! Beauty. Retrieved January 19, 2017, from https://www.yahoo.com/beauty/wearing-makeup-influences-men-women-000000163.html Berelson, B. (1952). Content Analysis in Communication Research. Glencoe: Free Press. Condé Nast. (2017). Retrieved January 26, 2017, from : http:// cn-prdweb1c.conde-dev.us/brands/vogue/media-kit/print De Bortoli, M., & Maroto, J. (2001). Colours Across Cultures: Translating Colours in Interactive Marketing Communications. Granada: Global Propaganda. Eviatar, A. (2015, November 5). The New York Review of Books. Retrieved March 24, 2017, from http://www.nybooks.com/ articles/2015/11/05/who-are-israeli-liberals/ Halbertal, D. (2010, December 22). Haaretz. Retrieved March 24, 2017, from http://www.haaretz.com/ israel-must-separate-religion-from-politics-1.331937 Independent. (2017, February 9). Retrieved May 26, 2017, from http://www.independent.co.uk/service/code-of-conduct-a6184241.html Jehovah’s Witnesses. (n.d.). Retrieved January 16, 2017, from https://www.jw.org/en/ publications/magazines/ Mastin, L. (2008). The Basics of Philosophy. Retrieved March 23, 2017, from http://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_conservatism.html Mastin, L. (2008). The Basics of Philosophy. Retrieved March 23, 2017, from http://www.philosophybasics. com/branch_liberalism.html My Jewish Learning. (2012). Retrieved March 24, 2017, from http://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/israeli-society-religious-issues/ Negrin, L. (2008). Appearance and Identity. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Ofcom. (2017, April 3). Retrieved May 24, 2017, from https:// www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-andon-demand/broadcast-codes/ broadcast-code/section-two-harm-offence
ROOD, D. (2010, March 1). The Age. Retrieved May 26, 2017, from http://www. theage.com.au/victoria/young-overrepresented-in-crashes-20100228-pb7s.html Rubner, M. (2011). Middle East Policy Council. Retrieved March 24, 2017, from http://www.mepc.org/journal/middle-east-policy-archives/ben-gurion-political-life-david-bengurion-and-jewish-renaissance Sharman, J. (2017, March 5). Independent. Retrieved March 5, 2017, from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/ emma-watson-topless-responds-vanity-fair-photo-shoot-feminism-a7612256.html Sozzani, F. (2010, September 15). Editor’s Blog. Retrieved April 25, 2017, from Vogue Italia: http://www.vogue.it/en/magazine/ editor-s-blog/2010/09/september-15th Travel, A. f. (n.d.). Association for Safe International Road Travel. Retrieved May 26, 2017, from http://asirt.org/initiatives/ informing-road-users/road-safety-facts/road-crash-statistics The Guardian. (2011, August). Editorial Guidelines: Guardian News & Media Editorial Code. Retrieved May 26, 2017
ANNEXES
108  Fashion as a Means of Communication
Hairstyle: long hair=1, short hair=2, medium length=3, bald=4
Clothing styles- Formal= 1, Semi-formal=2, informal=3, Business Casual=4, Smart Casual=5, Casual=6, Active Attire=7
Make-up: No make-up= 1, light make-up = 2, heavy make-up= 3
Gender of cover model(s) M= 1, F= 2, Both= 3, Unclear= 4
No. of persons on cover
Content analysis Guide on Vogue Magazine:
01.15
2
3
2
2
1
01.16
2
2
2
2
1
02.15
1
2
2
2
1
02.16
1, 2
2, 2
1, 2
3
2
03.15
3, 2
6
2
2
2
03.16
1
2
2
2
1
04.15
1
5
2
2
1
04.16
1
2
3
2
1
05.15
n/a
2
2
2
1
05.16
2
2
3
2
1
06.15
1
2
3
2
1
06.16
1
7
2
2
1
07.15
3
6
2
2
1
07.16
1
2
3
2
1
08.15
3
2
2
2
1
08.16
1, 2
7, 7
1, 3
3
2
09.15
3
2
2
2
1
09.16
3
2
2
2
1
10.15
2
2
3
2
1
10.16
n/a
2
2
2
1
Type of Shot: XLS=1, VLS=2, LS=3, MLS=4, MS=5,MCU=6,CU=7, BCU=8, XCU=9 Nudity: fully-clothed=1, scantily-clad=2, completely naked=3 Sexuality: 1–5 (1=not sexual, 5= extremely sexual) Most Prominent Text Related to Cover Model(s)=1 Not Related to Cover Model(s)=2
Annexes 109
01.15 6 1 1 2
01.16 5 1 1 2
02.15 7 1 2 2
02.16 5 1 2 2
03.15 6 1 2 2
03.16 7 1 2 2
04.15 5 1 2 2
04.16 3 2 4 1
05.15 5 1 3 2
05.16 3 2 4 1
06.15 5 2 4 2
06.16
5
2
4
2
07.15
6
1
3
2
07.16
5
1
2
2
08.15
6
1
3
1
08.16
4
1
2
2
09.15
4
2
4
1
09.16
5
2
4
1
10.15
5
1
3
2
10.16
6
1
1
2
110  Fashion as a Means of Communication
Hairstyle: long hair=1, short hair=2, medium length=3, bald=4
Clothing styles- Formal= 1, Semi-formal=2, informal=3, Business Casual=4, Smart Casual=5, Casual=6, Active Attire=7
Make-up: No make-up= 1, light make-up = 2, heavy make-up= 3
Gender of cover model(s) M= 1, F= 2, Both= 3, Unclear= 4
No. of persons on cover
Content analysis Guide on Watchtower Magazine:
01.15
2
6
n/a
3
4
01.16
n/a
6
1
1
2
02.15
1, 2
6
1
3
3
02.16
n/a, 4
6, 5
1
3
3
03.15
1, 2
6
n/a
3
9
03.16
n/a
7
1
1
1
04.15
2, 3
5,6
n/a
3
4
04.16
1
6
2
2
3
05.15
2
5
1
1
3
05.16
2, 4
7
1
3
8
06.15
2, 3
6
n/a
3
7
06.16
2, 4
6, 5
1
3
4
07.15
1, 2
6
1,2
3
8
07.16
2
6, 5
1
1
2
08.15
2, 3
6
1
3
4
08.16
1,2
6
1, 2
2
3
09.15
1, 2
6
n/a
3
6
09.16
1, 2
6, 5
1, 2
3
5
10.15
1, 2
5,6
n/a
3
14
10.16
2
5, 7
1
1
5
Type of Shot: XLS=1, VLS=2, LS=3, MLS=4, MS=5,MCU=6,CU=7, BCU=8, XCU=9 Nudity: fully-clothed=1, scantily-clad=2, completely naked=3 Sexuality: 1–5 (1=not sexual, 5= extremely sexual) Most Prominent Text Related to Cover Model(s)=1 Not Related to Cover Model(s)=2
Annexes 111
01.15 3 1 1 n/a
01.16 3 1 1 n/a
02.15 3 1 1 n/a
02.16 3 1 1 n/a
03.15 3 1 1 n/a
03.16 3 1 1 n/a
04.15 3 1 1 n/a
04.16 3 1 1 n/a
05.15 3 1 1 n/a
05.16 3 1 1 n/a
06.15 3 1 1 n/a
06.16
3
1
1
n/a
07.15
3
1
1
n/a
07.16
3
1
1
n/a
08.15
3
1
1
n/a
08.16
3
1
1
n/a
09.15
3
1
1
n/a
09.16
3
1
1
n/a
10.15
3
1
1
n/a
10.16
3
1
1
n/a
112  Fashion as a Means of Communication
Hairstyle: long hair=1, short hair=2, medium length=3, bald=4
Clothing styles- Formal= 1, Semi-formal=2, informal=3, Business Casual=4, Smart Casual=5, Casual=6, Active Attire=7
Make-up: No make-up= 1, light make-up = 2, heavy make-up= 3
Gender of cover model(s) M= 1, F= 2, Both= 3, Unclear= 4
No. of persons on cover
Content analysis Guide on Time Magazine:
01.15
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
0
01.16
2
2
n/a
3
>50
02.15
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
0
02.16
4
n/a
1
4
1
03.15
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
0
03.16
n/a
6
n/a
3
3
04.15
2
6
n/a
1
1
04.16
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
0
05.15
n/a
6, 7
n/a
1
>20
05.16
2
n/a
1
1
5
06.15
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
0
06.16
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
0
07.15
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
0
07.16
4
n/a
1
4
1
08.15
2
2
1
1
2
08.16
2
n/a
2
2
1
09.15
2
n/a
1
1
1
09.16
n/a
6
1
3
5
10.15
2
7
1
1
1
10.16
1
7
1
1
1
Type of Shot: XLS=1, VLS=2, LS=3, MLS=4, MS=5,MCU=6,CU=7, BCU=8, XCU=9 Nudity: fully-clothed=1, scantily-clad=2, completely naked=3 Sexuality: 1–5 (1=not sexual, 5= extremely sexual) Most Prominent Text Related to Cover Model(s)=1 Not Related to Cover Model(s)=2
Annexes 113
01.15 7 n/a n/a 1
01.16 4 1 n/a 1
02.15 9 n/a n/a 1
02.16 8 n/a n/a 1
03.15 7 n/a n/a 1
03.16 2 1 n/a 1
04.15 3 1 1 2
04.16 8 n/a n/a 1
05.15 3 1 1 1
05.16 9 n/a n/a 1
06.15 2 n/a n/a 1
06.16
7
n/a
n/a
1
07.15
6
n/a
n/a
1
07.16
5
2
n/a
1
08.15
5
1
1
2
08.16
7
n/a
n/a
1
09.15
7
n/a
n/a
1
09.16
2
1
n/a
1
10.15
6
1
1
1
10.16
3
1
n/a
1
Hava Rosenfeld is a lawyer, journalist and fitness-aerobics instructor. She graduated law school from Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University and journalism from Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj, Romania. She has a Master’s degree in Law from the University of Law, London, where she is currently based. Hava is half Nigerian and half Israeli, and her multicultural background afforded her a very rich upbringing which has helped her develop an intricate and openminded view on life. She speaks fluent English (native), Romanian, Igbo, and conversational French and Hebrew. She enjoys travelling, cooking, swimming, leisure reading and shopping. Fashion as a Means of Communication is her debut book.
ISBN 978-606-94403-0-8