‘A girl should be
two things: Classy and Fabulous’ by Coco Chanel (Karbo, 2009)
and my mother said the same to me when I was small. My mother is a huge fan of Chanel, she had to put on at least one Chanel item everyday but I was confused how the two “Cs” captured her. Eventually, I realised the two “Cs” was actually the abbreviation of Coco Chanel. Under the influence of magazines, celebrities and my mother, Chanel gave me the impression of elegance and style, the must-have brand for all uptown girls. I acquired my first Chanel item when I was at the age of 19, which I received a pair of earrings as my Christmas present from my mother. I instantly fell in love with Coco Chanel due to the fact that I felt privileged and superior when I was wearing them. I had never thought of the reason why Chanel had such power to magnetise the female population until my first read of the theory of commodity fetishism and brand values in my degree courses.
and my mother said the same to me when I was small. My mother is a huge fan of Chanel, she had to put on at least one Chanel item everyday but I was confused how the two “Cs” captured her. Eventually, I realised the two “Cs” was actually the abbreviation of Coco Chanel. Under the influence of magazines, celebrities and my mother, Chanel gave me the impression of elegance and style, the must-have brand for all uptown girls. I acquired my first Chanel item when I was at the age of 19, which I received a pair of earrings as my Christmas present from my mother. I instantly fell in love with Coco Chanel due to the fact that I felt privileged and superior when I was wearing them. I had never thought of the reason why Chanel had such power to magnetise the female population until my first read of the theory of commodity fetishism and brand values in my degree courses.
Therefore
I am going to explore how Chanel builds up their value and reproduce them, hence to promote consumption by making this as my dissertation title in my third year study.
To avoid any bias
opinion while maintaining a neutral view, I will be reading a wide range of
commentaries on Chanel as well as relevant journals and books. All possible
theories will be taken into account in order to create a critical piece of
dissertation.
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My dissertation
is going to explain the methods that Chanel uses in implicating its brand values
onto the commodities, such as perfumes, watches and clothes.
That will be a
theoretical research that draws on consumer culture and commodity fetishism
theories, the dissertation will also explain how consumption is promoted in
contemporary capitalist society through creating human values on luxury brand:
Chanel.
Sociological and
cultural perspectives will be used through out the dissertation; where sociological
theories and Chanel’s media will be looked into with greater depth, using
imagery and content approaches.
Marx theories on
commodity fetishism and capitalist society will be brought forward to describe
the effect of the added brand values in creating false consciousness and needs.
Hence, encourage sales, which is the central belief of the capitalist society. In the mean time, the two main values that
Coco Chanel is reproducing are women power and elitistism. The focus on
commodity feminism corresponds to Butler’s gender theories, where both of the theories
help to illustrate how women’s liberation was connoted in Chanel’s media (e.g.
advertisements, official websites, YouTube Chanel). Meanwhile, the class and
taste proposed by Bourdieu helps explaining the elitism.
I will be updating my progress from time to time. Stay tune my friends :)
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
