Week 2 EOC: Discussion Questions Chapter 2

1.      How has fashion advertising changed since the mid-twentieth century?  What are some of the differences between ads that appeared before the 1950s and those from the 1950s, 1960s, and today?
“Fashion branding became important as the popularity of mass-produced fashion (or mass fashion) grew in the twentieth century.”  Brand Story by Joseph Hancock page 13.  Technology, transportation, and mass communications improved after the 40s.  In a 1950 Jantzen swimwear ad, a “sexy” message is present.  In a 1960s ad for Maidenform bras, it was the beginning of postmodern advertising.  Today the same messages are present in ads, however they are much more prominent and scandalous.

2.      What are some of the theories related to fashion branding (i.e., Barthes and Baurdillard)?  What do they say about fashion branding as a means of communicating with consumers?  How do the contemporary ideas of Hamilton, DeBord, Agins, Gobe, and McCracken relate to those of Barthes and Baurdillard?
“The main function of fashion branding is to provide a structure that uses images and language to impart a meaning to retail products.”  Brand Story by Joseph Hancock page 24.  Generating meaning to consumers is important.  Baurdillard believed postmodernism defined fashion and came up with hyper reality, a theory that explains consumers are unable to define what is attainable and what is unattainable (a fantasy).

3.      What types of meanings does Grant McCracken associate with fashion products?  Do you agree or disagree?  If you disagree, what would you add to or delete from his list?  Give an example of one of the meanings.
McCracken listed 9 different meanings that are usually targeted by companies.  They are the following: gender, lifestyle, decade, age, class and status, occupation, time and place, value and fad, fashion, and trend meanings  “According to McCracken, meaning moves from the ‘culturally constituted world’ to the gatekeepers of consumer goods to the individual consumer, all three add meaning to a brand as it passes through their domains.”  Brand Story by Joseph Hancock page 30.  I agree with this list because it doesn’t seem to have left any stone unturned.