Explore the relationship between celebrity, fashion and consumption - past and present - in order to answer: Why do some people dress like celebrities?
Contents
Introduction 3
Relationship between Celebrities, Fashion and Consumption 3
Conclusion 8
Bibliography 9
Introduction
Celebrities are individuals who are easily recognizable by people in a specific region or country either mostly because of their careers and famous actions. Celebrities constantly hold to attention of the media by constantly appearing on the social scene. These celebrities could range from actors and actresses, politicians, millionaires and billionaires, models, athletes and television personalities. In the past and present, celebrities have influenced multiple aspects of society which include but not limited to consumer trends, fashion, social behavior, cultural practices, medical practices, psychological behavior and media practices. This study will look at the influence celebrities have specifically in fashion and related practices. This study will look into the relationship between celebrities, fashion and consumption in the past and in the present. The study will make use of sources that explore these relationships such as Muda. M’s investigation on why brands use celebrity advertising, Khatri’s investigation on which brands commonly use celebrity advertising, along with other sources that investigate the impact of using celebrities such as Mukherjee’s investigation of impact of celebrity brand endorsement, Andy’s research on impact of celebrity opinions on contemporary girlhood, among others.
The relationship between Celebrities, Fashion and Consumption
Celebrities cannot exist without fame and popularity. For more than 2000 years, fame has enabled legitimacy of actions, individuals, values and virtues in society. This has influenced society’s understanding and perception of how a person should look like, behave socially or spend their time and finances. For a very long time, the famous individuals have been viewed as a representation of a specific characteristic or emotion. Famous individuals have represented riches, hope, beauty, fashion and fame among other characteristics and emotions that everyone desires.
In addition to that, fame and gossip go hand in hand. It has been established that gossip is critical for the growth and sustenance of the film industry. Moreover, since the evolution of print and television media, it was noted that readers and watchers took more interest in the celebrities and the rich and famous. This bore the age of idolization of celebrities. The evolution of advertising created a new body image through models and celebrities. Models are seen as having the ideal body shape and size. Through the media, socio-cultural values are conveyed regarding ideal body shape and size, which creates an understanding of the ideal man and woman (McCabe, Butler & Watt, 2007) . This is what particularly makes brand advertising through models celebrities effective since many people see these models as having the most ideal body features and thus want to be associated with them..
This representation of body image had its positive and negative impact. Companies realized that they were able to drive an increase in sales after releasing ads involving celebrities. This is because many people want to imitate celebrities in ways such as the way celebrities live, dress, communicate and most importantly, the brands of products they choose and use (Alsmadi, 2006). Advertisements and celebrities careers are intentionally packaged and designed to draw emotions of the general public who are the main consumers of goods and services. After watching an advert by a celebrity, it becomes impossible to distinguish between the celebrity and the product when a consumer comes across the product at a local mall or shopping center. The use of celebrities has received a great boost from the internet such as through YouTube and other social platforms. (Gibson & Pesce, 2017. p.III)
A celebrity’s career is the first medium by which fans come to love and idolize a celebrity.
Andy, R (2016) carried out a research on the famous Young Italian vloggers among Italian teenagers, to find out the role of these ordinary celebrities in defining contemporary girlhood.
These Italian vloggers actively and regularly produce videos and media content to share on social media. He examined the phenomenon of the ‘ordinary celebrity’ on YouTube and social media. The vloggers also had large audiences; mainly teen girls, that are comparable to (or even greater than) those of mass media stars. He found out that vloggers’ daily narratives about their experience in everyday life (at school, with friends, opinions on fashion brands and make-up, etc.) are perceived by teenagers as natural and authentic and as something they can easily relate to. This sense of relation between teenage girls and the celebrity vloggers’ have helped build an emotional connection between the two and is used as symbolic materials in building girlhood identity among teen fans. . He found that since young girls can easily relate to the celebrity status of these Vloggers, the vloggers opinions on fashion brands were easily idolized. The girls were found to imitate the vloggers fashion. This was also contributed by the emotional attachment between these vloggers and their audience. When advertisers hire a celebrity to advertise their products, they are actually purchasing this emotional attachment which is transferable to the product or service. Therefore, the product or service gets to enjoy the same emotional attachment with the fans of the celebrity. This fantasy connection between the fans and the celebrity extends not only to products advertised, but also outfits that the celebrities wear.
Due to the increase in competition among brands within the fashion industry, a celebrity effect is a marketing tool applied to fashion brands. Mukherjee, D in his article “Impact of celebrity endorsements on brand image” notes that statistics have been varying with sales going up in cases where celebrities have been involved in marketing of a product. This is further supported by Francis D., & Yazdanifard, R., (p. 37-38) who assert that sales will go up if the celebrity-brand matching is done in the right way. Mukherjee further explains that during the year 1995, approximately 20% of onscreen advertisements used celebrities to endorse their pieces. By the year 2000, the number of onscreen advertisements using celebrities had increased to 25%. Today, it is difficult to find a fashion advert that does not involve a celebrity model, actor/actress or television personality. This is not only the case in the field of fashion but also in the corporate setting.
In the past, a brand would spend months or even years to penetrate a new market despite consistent media advertising. This was due to the huge clutter of advertisements in the media. Any advertiser’s message would be easily lost amid the confusion caused by consumers being exposed to one advertisement after another. Today, however, advertisers who want to highlight their brand have turned to celebrity endorsements since they believe that celebrities will transfer their qualities to the brand and thus produce favorable campaign results. (Muda, M., & Musa, R. & Putit L., 2017). Favorable campaign results are particularly seen for clothing brands that use celebrity advertising. This is because some people chose to dress like celebrities. They know that celebrities have first access to the best and most fashionable fashion pieces. Therefore, looking to celebrities for fashion inspiration assures an individual wearing the piece will make them stand out and on trend.
Celebrities employ stylists who purchase the items they wear, organize their wardrobe, and even put together specific outfits for them to wear. A lot of work goes into a celebrities look. A fan is able to make a celebrity their fashion influencer on a daily basis without having to meet the celebrity in person. This is especially through social media applications such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Through these social media platforms, the fan is able to put together fashion pieces similar to those worn by the celebrity without having to break a sweat. This way, an individual feels that they have been styled by a celebrity stylist without having to spend more. This has been accentuated and simplified by social media.
Advertisements also influence consumers to dress like celebrities. Advertising is a proven marketing tool that influences consumer behavior. Through advertising, brands and the media have encouraged people to think that imitating celebrity style makes one fashionable. For instance, in multiple occasions outfits similar to those worn by celebrities have sold out in record time. Moreover, fashion pieces endorsed by celebrity receive recognition from the public. The public awards the same recognition to the celebrity and the outfit. Endorsements by celebrities give fashion pieces credibility.
Multiple celebrities including Victoria Beckham, Rihanna and Jessica Simpson among many others are known to own fashion lines or collections. Some celebrities also get to work with renowned fashion designers in developing a new collection. As a result, their diehard fans flock to store to purchase outfits from celebrity collections before they sell out. Due to influence on the general public, celebrities are able to reintroduce fashion trends that were presumed to be outdated. This is possible since some individuals feel proud to be associated with a celebrity’s brand, regardless of any other factors such as being outdated. In the fashion social scene, people are always interested in knowing what the acquaintances are wearing. Therefore, it is a proud moment for someone to introduce their outfit using a celebrity name or fashion line.
Celebrities are icons and represent the perfect life for most people. Some people may therefore be under the impression that dressing like a celebrating gives them a sneak peek into the celebrity’s life. Additionally, dressing like a celebrity draws lots of attention. Some people take pride in the ability to draw the attention of onlookers. With this in mind, brands apply the celebrity effect in marketing. However, these celebrity endorsements are more likely to be observed for products with a high price-production cost margins. These are mostly nationally marketed products, local or niche market products and other products such as running shoes among other products that have a large price cost margin. (Khatri, 2006. p. 28).
Some people prefer to dress like celebrities because of the inspiration they receive from the celebrities. Many fans are able to keep up with their favourite celebrities’ personal lives through YouTube and social media. Andy, R. (2016), in his research on the effect of young vloggers on contemporary girlhood showed the celebrities’ way of doing things and their opinions on fashion brands were easily adopted by many teenagers, mainly because they can relate to their daily experiences. This, therefore, can be alluded to mean that fashion consumers look to celebrities for fashion brand inspiration.
The concept of luxury is attractive to the majority of the human race. Celebrities live in luxury and shop from luxurious brands due to their high income. Moreover, celebrities are also gifted by luxurious brands with some on their newest fashion pieces. The possibility that some people may get to share in this luxury leads them to purchase outfits similar to those worn by celebrities.
According to Boden, celebrity influence does not just influence adults’ fashion decisions but also extends to children. Boden argued that, “contemporary consumer culture and its obsession with celebrity, the children’s wear market and its transition from traditional children’s clothing to more adult-like styling, and the status of the ‘teenager’” combine to alter “children’s self-styling and the presentation of their identity.” (p.289).
According to Muda M. (2017, p.27), despite the positive benefits reaped from celebrity advertising, there are some potential risks involved. The celebrity selection process has to be effectively done to match the brand to the celebrity qualities. However, no matter how successful the selection process may be, risks such as future involvement of the celebrity in a scandal which may result in the celebrity endorsed brand losing greatly. Additionally, there is the risk of the brand being advertised by the celebrity being over shadowed by the celebrity’s fame. (Muda M. p.27-p.28) These are just some of the risks involved. Therefore, advertisers should exercise extreme caution and follow the advertising results closely for any changes and thus act accordingly.
Conclusion
Multiple reasons drive individuals to dress like celebrities. Although it may be perceived as a lack of individuality and originality, it may also be described as a source of inspiration and encouragement for many. The fashion industry continues to be a fluid environment that is subject to constant change. Consumer attitude and the celebrity effect are new aspects of the fashion industrial market that have led to its growth and expansion. Celebrities continue to be an influence on consumer behavior in fashion, beauty, plastic surgery, social and economic practices amongst multiple fields.
Bibliography
Alsmadi, S. (2006). The power of celebrity endorsement in brand choice behavior: An empirical study of consumer attitudes in Jordan. Journal of Accounting – Business & Management, 13: 69-84.
Andy, R. (2016). The ordinary celebrity: Italian young vloggers and the definition of girlhood. Film, Fashion & Consumption, 5(1), 123-139. doi:10.1386/ffc.5.1.123_1
Boden, S., 2006. Dedicated followers of fashion? The influence of popular culture on children’s social identities. Media, Culture & Society, 28(2), pp.289-298.
Francis D., & Yazdanifard, R., (2013). IRACST – International Journal of Commerce, Business and Management (IJCBM), ISSN: 2319–2828 Vol. 2, No.1, February 2013, p. 37-38
Gibson, P.C. and Pesce, S. (2017). Introduction. Fashion and Celebrity Culture: Body Spectacle and the Enlarged Sphere of Show Business. ZoneModa Journal, Vol. 7(1), p. III.
Khatri, P. (2006). Celebrity endorsement: A strategic promotion perspective. Indian Media Studies Journal, 1(1), 25-37. P.28.
McCabe, M., Butler, K., & Watt, C. (2007). Journal of Applied Behavioural Research. Media influences on attitudes and perceptions toward the body among adult men and women. Vol. 12, Issue 2, 101–118.
Muda, M., & Musa, R. & Putit L. (2017). Celebrity Endorsement in Advertising: A double-edged Sword. Journal of ASIAN Behavioural Studies, jABs, 2(3), Apr / Jun 2017 (p.21-32)
Mukherjee, D. (2009). Impact of celebrity endorsements on brand image.
