Brand gender: An androgynous perspective : A gender inclusive study with the case of Acne Studios.

Sammanfattning: The vast majority of research based on brand gender has been developed focusing on consumers’ perspectives and behaviour. The implications of studying different perceptions of a brand’s gender can be related to brand equity, since this term is strongly associated with brand personality. Furthermore, as consumers reinforce themselves and their self-concept through brand identification, implications regarding self-representation are emphasized in terms of self-congruency having significant influence in brandcustomer relationships. During this thesis, a new holistic firm perspective approach was applied to brand gender. Acne Studios, iconic fashion brand based in Stockholm, was analysed and constituted as case study, aimed to comprehend how a brand could be perceived and identified as androgynous. Several brand related elements, covering a wide spectrum from typography to brand’s portfolio, including garment analysis, as well as brand presentation and communication features were studied in order to provide a whole picture of the firm’s gender comprehension. Using as a starting point androgyny definition as the sum of the feminine and the masculine, the setting of brand´s gender was further expanded as a result of the analysis performed for covering all possible gender identifications. Overall, this study conveys a broad and inclusive understanding of gender within the fashion brand Acne Studios and its elements to deepen and provide a new perspective within marketing and gender research.