Fashion empowering women: Sterotypes in the TV dramedy series House of Cards, Suits and Emily in Paris

ABSTRACT

Fashion has showed a double face in its relationship with women and power. According with some feminist frameworks, fashion was something women need to release in a male-dominated structure. A new wave of authors claims for a power dressing approach, where fashion is a tool to define the new role of women in society. The study here contributes to this debate through the analysis of fashion in TV series. Representation of women in television series is feeding the women position in society and has already generated an interesting academic corpus. Analyzing power dressing elements in 130 fashion looks of 3 women boss characters (Claire Underwood in House of Cards, Sylvie Grateau in Emily in Paris and Jessica Pearson in Suits), a new stereotype of women is recognized. The study includes a qualitative analysis to understand the context of fashion functions in those series. The analysis concludes with three main uses of fashion in dramedy series: fashion to develop powerful characters; fashion to generate engagement with the audience; and fashion as a commercial tool. The study shows how fashion has become a key element for successful television series.

KEYWORDS:

• Fashion
• women status
• Tv series
• power dressing
• empowerment

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Arch G. Woodside for comments on the previous draft of the paper. The images displayed in this article have been authorized by the copyright owner for the present study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.