The Cultural Meaning Transfer of Fashion Aesthetics

ABSTRACT

The use of fashion aesthetics or beauty in advertising has been shown to be effective. However, the extent to which such fashion aesthetics are consistent across cultures has not been adequately explored. As such, the theory of cultural meaning transfer is applied in this study. Additionally, three perspectives of model attractiveness are discussed as to their relevance in fashion aesthetics consumption in global advertising: the sociobiological model, the cultural model, and the blended model. A three-phase study is presented that indicates that the blended model seems to be the operative model for advertisers to adopt. In other words, the results of this study indicate that the same attributes of fashion aesthetics/beauty may be similarly or differentially meaningful among consumers from different cultures.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Les Carlson and Dr. James W. Gentry for their help in the design of this research.