Formell catwalk eller 2000-talets spektakel? : En studie om förändringen av Chanels modevisningar

Sammanfattning: This bachelor thesis analyzes how the fashion house Chanel has been through a transformation in the concept of fashion shows, by analyzing six different video recordings of shows between 1994 and 2018. Caroline Evans describes today’s fashion shows as spectacles that no longer have the purpose of marketing for increased sales but rather a need to entertain the audience by theatrical performances. However, this study examines how the change can be understood by the staging and production, and how it can be perceived as a spectacle. The study also examines how this change takes place in creating an identity for Chanel as a brand, and how it communicates with the audience through the spectacle shows. A qualitative- and visual methodology has been used to understand the different ways of interpreting visual images. The theoretical framework that has been used to analyze the materials are three theories. These are Ginger Gregg Duggan’s theory about the strong relation between theatre and fashion, Patrik Asper’s theory about creating value and identity through markets, and Bengtsson’s, Svensson’s and Östberg’s theory about symbolic interaction. The results of the study show that the staging differs from the earlier shows, as it now appears to play out more like a theater performance and models in an act. Therefore, the shows from the 21st century are possible to be identified as spectacle shows. Further, the study also show that the fashion shows are significant for Chanel’s brand identity, and that the value is found in the spectacle rather than just the clothing as in formal fashion shows. The different themes and the messages that Chanel sends out through these shows, reveals the symbolic interaction that is taking place, hence the interaction between the show and the audience.