DISSERTATION

IDENTITY
INTRODUCTION
This analysis focuses mainly on the portrayal of fashion in media and how this contributes to the development
of a person’s identity. ‘Identity’ is an important attribute to an individual, therefore, assessing what influences
this in fashion media is key to viewing whether identity is, in fact, a form of conformism or self-expression.
Fashion media is a social platform where all types of fashion and style related news are distributed. This
is portrayed by fashion writers, critics, reporters, and could also be presented by public figures such as
celebrities or designers. Today’s media – specifically magazine/editorial – depicts an idealistic fantasy of a
lavish lifestyle; be that through industrial trends or celebrity lifestyles. Consumers/followers/fashion enthusiasts
are fixated on the influences presented, that they are often unconsciously subjected to this handling.
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AIM: Throughout this dissertation, an investigation has been carried out to establish the impacts of fashion
through magazines/editorials, to determine whether a new approach can be brought into it.
FACT - “On average, US adolescents consumed over 10 hours of media each day in 2016”- LSN, (2017). This
statistic emphasises the role media plays in the millennial society, more importantly how it socially alters our
perception of what media reveals to its audience.
This dissertation also explores the role that fashion media has in the development of personal identity, due
to fashion-related factors. These factors include online platforms – in which fashion manifests itself into –
to target a broader audience. Another factor on an individual’s identity is the level of exposure to fashion
advertisement and promotion that they are subjected to, this essentially influences their perception of what
to wear and what to think; ultimately contributing to their identity. This will also be discussed in the following
analysis with research evidence, to suggest if this type of influence is indeed healthy or a false, misguided
view of what fashion should be.
As well as identifying these different types of fashion impacts, this dissertation will look at the importance of
self-expression through fashion-tribes and subcultures, to determine what this ‘make-up’ of an identity consists
of. It focuses mainly on the heritage of these self-expression’s and how it no longer is apart of modern-day
trends and style. The research conducted here will reveal whether these forgotten identities should remain
forgotten, or be incorporated and promoted through fashion media, to revive them.