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Selling whose dream? A taxonomy of aspiration in fashion imagery
Abstract and Figures
Scholars and practitioners assume that women aspire to fashion photographs of idealized models. It is unknown, however, what makes a fashion image aspirational because previous researchers have not explored the various dimensions that evoke this concept. In this article, I share the development of a taxonomy that explains the evaluative criteria and image elements that elicit aspiration in fashion photographs based on data gathered in focus groups with 100 women. Findings reveal that women aspire to a fashion image according to their evaluations that it is honest, empowering and socially responsible. The models, creative direction and visual cues in the image trigger these three aspirational criteria. My research contributes the first taxonomy of aspiration in fashion photographs and to the enhancement of knowledge about consumer engagement with images. Industry professionals are encouraged to incorporate promotional photographs into their corporate social responsibility agenda and produce imagery that represents women’s diverse beauty and character alongside glamour and artistry.
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... Consumers often mentally visualize expected product use outcomes before purchasing . The fashion industry has long utilized idealized fashion models to encourage consumers to imagine the anticipated looks and fits of fashion products (Ben, 2014). This visual merchandising strategy stimulating strong mental imagery has been widely confirmed to improve consumer purchase intention (e.g. ...
... Once consumers generate mental imagery, they visualize themselves with the product, and it feeds the consumers' cognitive evaluations, enhancing their indirect product experiences (e.g. Ben, 2014;Miller et al., 2000). Mental imagery also helps consumers fantasize and dream of adventure and escape related to the future use of a product or service, which produces imaginative constructions of reality and stimulates affective satisfaction (Ben, 2014;Singer, 1966;Yim et al., 2018). ...
... Ben, 2014;Miller et al., 2000). Mental imagery also helps consumers fantasize and dream of adventure and escape related to the future use of a product or service, which produces imaginative constructions of reality and stimulates affective satisfaction (Ben, 2014;Singer, 1966;Yim et al., 2018). Indeed, such theoretical ideas have been empirically confirmed in much prior research. ...
*** Purpose – In keeping with recent body image social trends, consumer demand for the adoption of plus-size models is increasing, although the use of thin models remains prevalent. The current study explores how consumers process information about fashion products displayed on different sizes of models in advertisements, focusing on model and consumer body sizes and both genders. As an underlying mechanism explaining how the relationship between model and consumer body sizes shapes consumer purchase intention, this study explores the role of guilt, shame, and mental imagery.
*** Design/methodology/approach – The current study uses a text analytics technique to identify female consumers’ general opinions of thin models in advertising. Employing a 3 (consumer body size: normal, overweight, obese) x 2 (model body size: thin, plus-size) x 2 (gender: male, female) between-subjects online experiment (n = 718), the main study comparatively analyzes the influences of plus-size and thin models on consumer responses.
*** Findings – The results reveal that, despite body positivity movements, thin models still generate negative emotions among female consumers. For obese female consumers, advertisements featuring plus-size models produce fewer negative emotions but not more mental imagery than advertisements featuring thin models. Conversely, for obese male consumers, advertisements featuring plus-size models generate more mental imagery but not more negative emotions than advertisements featuring thin models. The results also reveal that the relationship between consumer body size and guilt is moderated by perceived model size, which is also moderated by gender in generating mental imagery. While guilt plays a mediating role in enhancing mental imagery, resulting in purchase intention, shame does not take on this role.
*** Research limitations/implications – Our findings only apply to contexts where consumers purchase fashion clothing in response to advertisements featuring thin versus plus-size models.
*** Practical implications – Exposing normal-size consumers to plus-size models generates less mental imagery, and thus, practitioners should seek to match the body sizes of the models featured in advertising to the body sizes of their target audience or ad campaigns that include both plus-size and thin models may help improve message persuasiveness in fashion advertising. Moreover, guilt-appeal advertising campaigns using thin models would appeal more to thin consumers of both genders than shame-appeal advertising.
*** Originality/value – This study is the first to present an integrated model that elucidates how consumers with varying body sizes respond to different sizes of models in advertising and how these responses impact purchase intentions.
... Matthews (2012) and Mackinney-Valentin (2013) noted that clothing and changes in style are always connected to human personality and identification with the group. The relationship between a person's body image and their experience of style is complicated and subject to pressures produced by social relationships and media messages (Damhorst 2005;Barry 2014), and the subjective experience of looking good plays a role in personal well-being (Rysst 2010;Thompson 2012). According to Grogan (2008), changes that promote a positive body image may also improve one's overall quality of life. ...
... Joy et al. (2012) argued that aesthetics plays a key role in the transition to sustainable fashion, implying that the stylist may be one mediator in this process. However, professionals are still encouraged to social responsibility agenda and produce imagery that represents women's diverse beauty and character alongside glamour and artistry (Barry 2014) against the narrow beauty ideals that are seen to be prerequisite for the social strategy to play (Mackinney-Valentin 2013). ...
The main goal of this study was to conceptualize the practices and processes of fashion styling and to clarify the meanings of key concepts to enhance understanding of diverse functions in different areas of fashion styling. The qualitative study was based on thematic interviews with fifteen styling experts (eleven females and four males). The data were first analysed inductively and subsequently using theory-based content analysis. The analysis revealed five key functions of fashion styling: (1) implementing human needs and increasing well-being through personal styling; (2) expressing personal ideas through artistic styling; (3) influencing clients’ conceptions of ideal beauty through fashion styling and promotional styling; (4) enhancing the commercial viability of fashion products through commercial styling; and (5) self-fashioning as self-representation in fashion blogging and online marketing of styling services. The final analysis revealed four concepts of fashion styling with diverse meanings in relation to art, design, craft and technology: aesthetic-humanistic, aesthetic-expressive, aesthetic-impressive and aesthetic-exemplary.
... International Journal of Advertising 7 on the characteristics that researchers have found to influence consumer response to fashion ads (Phillips and McQuarrie 2011;Barry 2014). The researchers had no expectations of how participants would or should interpret any of the ads and did not steer informants one way or another. ...
... It is possible that the labor/other position on the grid is the most accessible for anti-fashion men because it proposes fashion as an acceptable type of male labor, and takes into consideration the (potentially negative) opinions of other men. Past research also has suggested that specific model elements, such as body type and pose influence women's responses to fashion advertisements (e.g., Barry 2014). Scholars have noted that sexualized and idealized male fashion images have significantly increased over the past three decades (e.g., Bordo 1999;Gill, Henwood, and McLean 2003). ...
This study examines how men who are interested in fashion interpret fashion advertisements. Data are garnered from interviews with adult men who regularly read fashion magazines and buy fashion clothing. Findings reveal that men process fashion advertisements through the same five modes as women. The current study also demonstrates that men's responses to fashion advertisements can be categorized through the Fashion Engagement Grid which examines men's characterizations of and motivations for fashion behavior. This study expands theoretical understandings of gender in advertising research and recommends advertising elements to attract male consumers.
... For example, the group of large-sized and less self-confident women preferred extra-sized models for products not related to fatty foods. Meanwhile, extra-sized models were reported in other studies to have a positive effect on educational advertising and self-motivation (Barry, 2014). The recognition of thin models as advertising models, specifically for fashion products, is clearer (Dittmar & Howard, 2004). ...
This study aims to explore the effects of body size and appearance – homophily on parasocial interaction (PSI), advertisement recognition, and purchase intention of diet food products promoted by digital celebrities on the social media platform, TikTok. The main focus is to understand how body size and appearance - homophily can influence advertisement effectiveness and purchase decisions, considering the moderating role of digital celebrity credibility. A total of 357 data were collected through an online survey, verified, and analyzed using PLS-SEM. The results showed that advertisement model body size and appearance – homophily had a positive effect on PSI and advertisement recognition. Moreover, PSI was significant in increasing purchase intention of diet food products but advertisement recognition had no direct effect. It was also observed that digital celebrity credibility acted as a moderator to strengthen the relationship between model body size and PSI as well as ad recognition to increase purchase intention. This study provided important insights for marketers on how to select the right digital celebrities based on body size and appearance – homophily to enhance advertising effectiveness on social media. The results showed that digital celebrity credibility could strengthen or weaken the influence of body size on advertising outcomes, especially in sensitive products such as diet food. The original contribution provided is by examining the influence of body size, appearance - homophily, and digital celebrity credibility in the context of social media, specifically TikTok which is an increasingly dominant platform in digital advertising. The results extend the literature on digital celebrities and parasocial interactions, and subsequent application in the marketing of health and weight loss products.
... For decades, most Western fashion brands have perpetuated an aspirational image by predominantly featuring unrealistically thin models in their marketing strategies (Barry, 2014;Czerniawski, 2022). Despite extensive research demonstrating the harmful impact of such imagery on women's body satisfaction (L� opez-Guimer� a et al., 2010), retail stores persist in showcasing these ideals, alienating many women whose sizes are beyond the limited scope of "straight" or standard sizing, which typically ranges from a US 0 to 8 . ...
Purpose – Despite the online shopping trend, many women still prefer in-store experiences for trying on and buying clothes. The body positivity movement endorsed by many brands implies that all women, even those with lower body appreciation, should feel included in this setting. However, studies have yet to quantitatively explore the mediating role of women’s positive body image between clothing size and in-store experiences. To
address this gap, this study examined the in-store experiences of 642 women from largely Western nations (Mage = 45.96, SD = 9.31) who self-reported as straight-, mid- and plus-sizes and the mediating role of body appreciation.
Design/methodology/approach – Participants completed online questionnaires with measures including clothing size, body appreciation, in-store experiences and preferences for in-store changes.
Findings – Women of mid-size and plus-size were more likely than women of straight-size to report lower body appreciation, which led to a greater desire for guidance from staff about styles but less likelihood to approach them, higher discomfort going up a size and lower confidence trying on clothes. In contrast, straight-size women generally felt more comfortable and confident in-store clothes shopping. A direct link between
clothing size and lower purchase intentions without in-store representation was found; however, body appreciation did not mediate this link. Preferences for in-store changes included better support from sales staff and more inclusive imagery.
Originality/value – This study indicates that in-store clothes shopping may not feel like retail therapy for women who identify as mid-size or plus-size and experience low body appreciation. It highlights the need for comprehensive reform within the fashion retail industry by prioritizing inclusivity through better staff support and in-store representation for all sizes.
... Traditionally, marketers have postulated that extremely thin models with a very low BMI convey ideals of beauty and aesthetics (Venkatesh et al., 2010) and draw consumer purchases through aspirational values (Barry, 2014). The rationale for promoting an extremely thin body image that is unattainable for most women is grounded in the expectation that unfulfilled aspirations secure continued purchases from customers hunting their appearance-based ideals (Borland & Akram, 2007 ...
Recent research has pointed out the importance of appearance similarity as a special instance of homophily. The current paper introduces body mass index (BMI) similarity as a convenient and powerful proxy of perceived appearance homophily in the context of female advertising models by showing process evidence and boundary conditions for the effect of BMI similarity on marketing‐relevant downstream variables. Study 1 tests how BMI similarity relates to a traditional measure of appearance homophily and perceived reliability of a female advertising model. Study 2 shows that BMI similarity influences perceived product quality and purchase intention. Website vividness negatively moderates the relationship between BMI similarity and product quality. Study 3 tests for alternative explanations and provides support for the mediating effect of appearance homophily for the relationship between BMI similarity and perceived product quality. The findings provide marketing managers with important insights on how to increase their marketing effectiveness by integrating BMI similarity into their marketing communications. Additionally, using BMI similarity serves as an alternative way to promote diversity and inclusion of models with plus‐size body type often sought by societal brands.
... El primero actúa de manera infantil e ingenua, lo cual lo predispone a la decepción frente a los retos de las convenciones sociales. Mientras que el tonto es una exageración del inocente: su incompetencia detona el humor dentro de la película(Grindon, 2011, p. 15).13 Con respecto a esto,Barry (2014) propone una taxonomía que explica los criterios evaluativos y los elementos de imaginería que suscitan la aspiración en las fotografías de moda a partir de datos recopilados en grupos focales. ...
Este artículo se inscribe en el contexto de una investigación sobre la verdad y la ética en las redes sociales, y consiste en el análisis de una campaña diseñada para cuestionar las convenciones y reforzar el papel de la figura femenina, en el marco de una representación de impecable factura que se ha valido de los recursos expresivos del cinematógrafo. Se trata de la campaña realizada por la marca Givenchy para promocionar una fragancia denominada L´Interdit que ha sido difundida a través de diferentes plataformas de comunicación. El análisis contribuirá a conocer mejor las tendencias dominantes de la creatividad actual y abrir un debate sobre las implicaciones éticas de unas proposiciones que invitan a rebasar los límites. Las herramientas proporcionadas por disciplinas como la semiótica, el psicoanálisis y la teoría de la Gestalt ayudarán a entender mejor el significado de una producción audiovisual que ha recurrido a una fantasía de transgresión para cautivar a los espectadores y estimular su imaginación.
... El primero actúa de manera infantil e ingenua, lo cual lo predispone a la decepción frente a los retos de las convenciones sociales. Mientras que el tonto es una exageración del inocente: su incompetencia detona el humor dentro de la película(Grindon, 2011, p. 15).13 Con respecto a esto,Barry (2014) propone una taxonomía que explica los criterios evaluativos y los elementos de imaginería que suscitan la aspiración en las fotografías de moda a partir de datos recopilados en grupos focales. menta de Sol puede leerse como la expresión del elitismo del mundo de la moda y también como un elemento transformador que se empalma con el makeover de "fea a guapa" tan recurrente en las comedias romcoms.En la comedia romántica, un espacio idílico, casi bucólico, es el escenario ideal para que la relación amorosa ocurra. ...
Este texto estudia el discurso sobre el amor romántico construido por la revista Vogue España en uno de los films cortos Fashion Drama. Se realiza un análisis textual de uno de los vídeos a partir de la intertextualidad con las comedias románticas de Hollywood y, el pastiche de las convenciones genéricas. Se concluye que en estas ficciones, por medio del humor, se reproduce un discurso en el que se, si bien se critican los valores hegemónicos sobre el amor romántico de las relaciones heterosexuales, al mismo tiempo se refuerzan los roles de género tradicionalmente atribuidos a la mujer.
In the wake of the ongoing digital revolution, images have emerged as a platform for conveying multifacet information about a product or service in the increasingly competitive business environment. This study focuses on the scale development of the camera eats first construct, investigating how photographers associate the meaning of a photograph while sharing photos on their social media accounts. The conceptual understanding of the construct is influenced by the elegance of the theory of framing that evolves through three-stages—frame-building (how photograph frames emerge), frame-setting (the interplay between photograph frames and audience predispositions) and framing effects (information processing, attitudinal or behaviourial effects). Our development and validation process of a psychometric property consists of four empirical phases that support the construct and its nomological validity. Our study provides an initial exposure to scale development, using methodological rigors that consider the views of the respondents in the restaurant industry. We provide evidence that the camera eats first construct consists of five dimensions (i.e., inspiration, aspiration, food photographic identity, influencers, tailor-made food) which will enable restaurants managers to formulate informed strategies to their potential customers, providing the latest trends in the gourmet industry as well as improving and upholding the sophistication of the industry.
Studies show mixed results for the effectiveness of larger-bodied models in marketing campaigns. This paper examines the spillover effects of larger-bodied models on brand and product evaluations while accounting for the model’s race. In two experiments, results show that a larger bodied white model produces inferior evaluations compared to her thin counterpart. No differences surface for the black model. These outcomes are theorized to represent racially derived category norms. This study challenges previously discovered benefits of using larger bodied models, but suggests a method for adopting the strategy successfully.
We propose that consumers' relationships to nonadvertising forms of mass media are an essential aspect of the perceived meanings they derive from advertisements. After presenting a multidisciplinary theoretical framework, we discuss the results of an in-depth grounded theory investigation that identifies three key interpretive relationships between consumers and mass media vehicles.
This paper provides a review of the psychological literature on LGBT appearance and embodiment. Research on ‘outsider’ perceptions of LGBT appearance and embodiment has focused on the links between perceptions of physical attractiveness and homosexuality, and physical attractiveness and transsexuality, and on the detection of homosexuality from visual cues. ‘Insider’ research has examined LGBT people’s body image, and appearance and adornment practices in non-heterosexual communities. We identify three major limitations of LGBT appearance research: (i) the reliance on a gender inversion model of homosexuality; (ii) the marginalisation of bisexual appearance and embodiment; and (iii) the focus on trans as a diagnostic category and the resulting exclusion of the subjectivities and lived experiences of trans people.
This paper seeks to underline the negotiated character of male identities by demonstrating the means by which lifestyle magazine advertising has caused men to gaze upon images of their own bodies and by outlining the implications of this inversion of the male gaze. The paper begins by delineating the unfinished nature of our bodies and their role in identity projects. It then charts the emergence of men’s lifestyle magazines in the UK and their position in the representation of male bodies. Next, the paper outlines the traditional understanding of the male gaze and identifies how that gaze is being inverted by the advertising images contained in men’s lifestyle magazines. The paper then explains how men can adopt multiple subject positions in their consumption of such advertising and what the implications of this are for the negotiation of male identities. Finally, conclusions are drawn and recommendations made for further research.
The prevailing view is that imagery in fashion advertising is idealized, and that repeated exposure to the gap between ideal and real is toxic to women's self-esteem, providing prima facie evidence for the negative impact of the marketing system on vulnerable consumers. We challenge this view of fashion ad imagery by means of content analyses and a survey supplemented by interviews. The prevailing view is shown to be ideologically rather than empirically based, and to confuse fashion with other quite different product categories. We conclude by discussing how fashion advertising, once cleared of this ideological debris, provides an opportunity to extend marketing theory to account for a broader range of consumer response across product categories. We also develop the concept of taste goods, such as fashion clothing, as a site where novel routes to persuasion can be studied.
The literature indicates that the idealized images of physical attractiveness found in advertising have a negative impact on girls' and women's self-perceptions. The current study extends this research to males and adds the dimension of financial success. The empirical findings presented here indicate that exposure to idealized images of both physical attractiveness and financial success have a negative effect on males' self-evaluations. This study also examines the role of attention to social comparison information (ATSCI) in moderating the effects, and finds that high ATSCI sometimes exacerbates the unintended consequences of attractive advertising images on people's self-perceptions.
Exposure to thin media models has a negative effect on women's body image, and the current study extends previous research by examining the relative impact and interrelation of two moderators: (a) individual differences in women's internalization of the thin ideal, and (b) tendency to make social comparisons with media models. Body-focused anxiety of adult professional women (n = 150) was examined after they had been exposed to one of three types of images: thin models, average-size models, or no models (baseline control). Regression analyses confirmed that thin-ideal internalization and tendency toward appearance-related social comparisons act as moderators of media effects, but internalization is a more proximal and specific predictor of women's anxiety than more general social comparison. Negative reactions to thin images are conditional on internalization only, whereas high internalization undermines the positive effects of exposure to average-size models when it combines with strong habitual social comparison. Implications for methodology, future research, and intervention are discussed.
An increasing number of studies shows that exposure to thin ideal bodies in the me- dia has negative effects on young women's body images, at least in the short-term. However, this research has (a) consistently confounded the effects of thinness and attractiveness, and (b) not investigated the potential use of alternative images in ad- vertising that do not decrease women's body esteem. This study examines the im- pact of three types of advertisements—featuring thin models, average-size models, or no models—on adult women's body-focused anxiety, and on advertising effec- tiveness. As expected, exposure to thin models resulted in greater body-focused anxiety among women who internalize the thin ideal than exposure to average-size models or no models. Yet, advertisements were equally effective, regardless of the model's size. This implies that advertisers can successfully use larger, but attrac- tive, models and perhaps avoid increasing body-focused anxiety in a large proportion of women. Levels of concern and public debate about whether the use of very thin models in the media has a detrimental effect on women are increasing. For example, the government in the UK held a body image summit in June 2000 to discuss the need for policies regarding such media images, and the Medical Association concluded "the media play a significant role in the aetiology of eating disorders" (BMA, 2000). Psychological research has an important role in addressing two ques- tions that are crucial to this debate. Is it true that displaying very thin
A growing body of research has linked the reading of women's beauty and fashion magazines with the presence of eating-disordered thinking. Most of this research has focused on the relationship between the frequency with which women read and their potential anorexic risk. In the present study, the authors explore the connection between the motivations for reading and the presence of anorexic cognitions. Specifically, this study of 536 college-age women sought to determine which reading motivations might be the most p redictive of anorexic risk and whether those motivations would be differentially related to reading frequency and to scores on the Mizes Anorectic Cognitions Scale (MACS). To test the simultaneous contribution of the possible reading motivations on the two outcomes of interest, a structural equation model using AMOS 4.0 was generated. The findings from the model indicate that reading frequency and anorexic risk are largely predicted by divergent motivational factors. The reading frequency of beauty and fashion magazines was most strongly predicted by a woman's desire for selfimprovement. Anorexic risk, as measured by MACS scores, was best predicted
This study used an interpretative methodology for exploring men's reactions to the representation of male bodies in advertising, particularly when men are portrayed in a sexual or naked pose and complemented past studies by investigating whether or not men felt that they were being objectified or exploited in advertising in the same manner as critical and feminist literature has suggested in relation to women. The extent to which men felt that the representation of idealized male images in advertising had an adverse effect on their self‐image and self‐esteem is discussed. Emergent interpretive themes include homophobia, gender stereotyping and the legitimization of the exploitation and use of sexuality in marketing. The implication for brands is explored.