Globalization of Popular Culture:
The Elite of the Fashion Industry
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Researcher: |
Kim(berly) Smith (ksmith1@depaul.edu) |
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Topic Description: |
"I want to be like Mike" sort of grew on the
male population but for females there was no Michael Jordan's that everyone
knew and loved and wanted to grow up and be like. Supermodels graced the cover of high-class magazines all around
the world; one example of an elite magazine that promotes elegant fashions
and supermodels is Vogue. These are
the women that other women looked to; I want to look like Tyra or I want to
look like Kathy Ireland. Their external beauty and the expensive clothing
that they wear have made them role models for a lot of women. The purpose of this worldwide model search
is to look at supermodels and fashions from different countries: Japan,
Europe, India, and the United States and determine how these women have
become global icons. |
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Discussion of Topic: |
Supermodels are considered role models among the female
population. They are the women that
many women strive to look like.
Supermodels are seen as beautiful, flawless art pieces that women
dream of being. Supermodels are,
"the poster children of hedonism." (Seeper, 30) They are worshipped
for two possible reasons. The first
being because of their external beauty.
"For over a century newspapers and magazines have
been deluging Americans with images of ideal beauty, and only strict
emulations of these ideals has been sanctioned as attractive."
(Zimmerman, 2) Supermodels are fine works of art that women see and gaze at
in amazement and view them as something that is unreachable. They are on the covers of magazines,
posted on billboards, and on television.
Their ectomorphic body types have been deemed as ideal for the perfect
women. The media sets the trends, standards, and priorities of
our women. Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. The representative of
beauty that is seen on the television and in our culture is supermodels. Within our materialistic and vain society
beauty is a number one priority and grosses millions of dollars a year. Women spend large sums of money on
surgeries and "recommended" products that will make them beautiful,
beautiful enough to be the next Tyra or Cindy. Beauty as a business leads to the second reason why
supermodels are worshipped.
Supermodels in our society represent something that is unattainable
unless you have money. These women
that spend unthinkable amounts on beauty products and surgeries have
money. That is how they are able to
emulate the look of the supermodels.
Social stratification comes into play here because those women who do
not have the money to get these surgeries are a step behind women with
money. So it is fair to say that
supermodels represent women of a high social stratification. They are symbols of the elite. To represent the elite you must dress different than
everyone else. There are models for
all types of clothing but the high-class designers rely on supermodels to
flaunt their expensive designs to the higher classes. Attending a fashion show with designs from
Gucci, Fendi, or even Prada cost unbelievable amounts, who has the money to
pay 5,000 to sit at a fashion show; the elite. Supermodels have become globalized commodities because of
the fashion industry. The fashion
industry has expanded all across the world.
Designers from all over the world expand their businesses to promote
their expensive fashions. A native
from Milan who was known by the name Versace designed a label for the elite
because his prices could not have been aimed at anyone else; that has and
still remains popular among the elite. Styles by Prada, Gucci, Dolce and
Gabbana, and many other classic designs grace the covers of magazines and are
seen in the media. Who else to promote these fashions but supermodels.
Supermodels a term derived to have a higher standard than just a model. This is why they are paid unspeakable
amounts to do photo shoots or do fashion shows b/c they are appealing to
audiences higher than your average model, they are appealing to those who can
afford to be in Gucci or Dolce and Gabbana. Fashion is seen as power, whatever elegant design one is
seen in it tells a great deal about their status within society. If one sees a person walking across the
street in dirty pants with holes in them and a soiled ripped T-shirt the
first impression one could have is that this person is not of the elite. Unfortunately this notion of external
beauty is not something that has come into society within recent years. Earlier in this century this power lay
mainly in the hands of a few women, High class styles dominated the fashion
sphere. Supermodels in the 1950's were regarded as top fashion mannequins. Such mannequins as Suzy Parker, Dorian
Leigh, and Dovima were classified as supersophisticated models in a
sophisticated time, not the girl next door.
Fifty years later supermodels are still mannequins for the top
designers. These women get involved with the top agencies who in
terms are involved with the top designers and their modeling career
flourishes from there. The most well
known agency is Elite model Management. This agency is the most recognized
name in fashion. This agency has
branches in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, Toronto, Paris,
Milan, Barcelona, Munich, Hamburg, Athens, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Fribourg,
Tokyo, Hong Kong, Jakarta, and Santiago.
This agency bills over $100 million (in U.S. dollars) in modeling fees
annually representing over 1,000 models on five continents. This is how supermodels became global from well-known
modeling agencies. |
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Method(s): |
By examining web sites on supermodels, the fashion
industry, and fashion designers one could have a general idea of how women
known as supermodels become worldwide icons. |
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Findings and Data: |
On the runways the
average model is a thin women. How did the assumption that beauty was a size
2 come into being? We are not sure
how thin became engraved in the beauty bible but we are aware that the early
models were thin women. After the mid
1800s the Gibson Girl was considered an eye catcher. Charles Dana Gibson created the Gibson
Girl, she was slimmer and more athletic looking. The measurements of the Gibson Girl were 38-27-45, not thin by
today's standards but thinner than the previous full figured women who were
seen as models in the 1800s. The New Look began to be promoted by magazines;
this look consisted of hand-span waist and women were doing everything
possible to achieve this look. Today supermodels
are smaller than the Gibson Girl, the average waist size of a supermodel is a
24 and the average chest size is a 36.
These supermodels
are from all over the world but they have similar physiques. They all have been on the runway in some
elite design. They were discovered by
agencies and have worked with the best in the world. They all have worked with elite designers
and graced the covers of high profile magazines. Designers:
Versace Gucci Prada Dolce and Gabbana Fendi Ralph Lauren Magazines: Vogue (France, Japan, Germany, and United States) GQ Cosmopolitan (Spain, Vogue, and United States) Elle (Australia, UK, Hong Kong, and the Unites States) These magazines and designers are marketed all across the
world but their target audiences ultimately are those who can afford the
designs. |
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Conclusions: |
Supermodels are a
global industry. In order for them to
be supermodels they have to go beyond the expectations of a regular model. In
order for them to do this they must be represented by the top agencies that
can receive global recognition. These
agencies rely on the fashion industry to promote these models, the fashion
industry is the backbone for the globalization of supermodels. Fashion is referred to as elegance and
glamour and in our society the elite are referred to as elegant and
glamour. The fashion
industry has transgressed from not only appealing to high society but also to
other classes as well. Top designers
like Versaci will still be considered part of the elite but there are other
designers that are copying the designs of the elite to bring it to other
classes. On the Oprah Winfrey show
she sets aside a segment in her show to show off the copycat designs of the
elite so others who can not afford Gucci and Dolce and Gabbana can at least
look like they can. This is a way to
bring the classes closer together in the fashion industry. Not only are the elite designers bringing
their fashions to the elite all over the world they are bringing women into
the elite by having them wear their designs. |
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References: |
Bibliography: Callender, Cat.
"Couture Club Mix." The
Times(London), Sept. 1, 2001. Campbell-Johnston,
Rachel. "The way we look now." National
Review 49: 40-1. Candy, Lorraine.
"Here's looking at you." The
Times(London) Sept. 15, 2001. Duffy, Martha.
"Understated art." Time
146: 112. McNamara, Lynne. "Supermodels follow 'Plan B' career:
Busy Kathy Ireland takes time out on the Vancouver set of her latest
production." The Vancouver Sun,
August 15, 2001. Media, Louise. "Iman hits back at a world where the
fashion is always white." The
Independent(London), August16, 2001. Rubin, Sylvia. "Fitting Fashions/Solid Styles Made a
comeback this year in the form of fur, suits and new colors." The
San Francisco Chronicle, December 26, 2000. Whiting, Kim. "Role Models, Not Supermodels." Feminist Voice 10: 10. Zimmerman. Jill S. "An Image to Heal." The Humanist 57: 20-5. Links: http://209.208.170.247/elite/index.jsp These
links will connect you to supermodels around the world and also link you with
top modeling agencies as well. Also
you can check out the sites of different magazines and view the different
designs that are popular today. |
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