Challenging the Fashion Industry: A Qualitative Content Analysis of the Audience Reactions To the Louis Vuitton and Ulrikke Høyer’s Casting Controversy
2022 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 10 credits / 15 HE credits
Student thesis
Abstract [en]
On 18 May 2018, Danish fashion model Ulrikke Høyer decided to comment on her cancellation from Louis Vuitton's inter-seasonal fashion show in Tokyo. In her emotional Instagram and Facebook posts, the model highlighted the mistreatment from the luxury fashion brand and its collaborators: casting director Ashley Brokaw and her assistant Alexia Cheval. Known for her longtime presence in the brand's show, Høyer has been cancelled from the show at the last moment due to her insufficient body condition. Moreover, she has been suggested to restrain from eating to gain the required shape. The model's post has met with many reactions perpetuating an industry debate about its control over bodies, mistreatment of female models and neglection of independent voices as Høyer has become an industry's "persona non grata". While this event resulted in many social media reactions, no research has addressed this problem. This thesis addresses this gap with the qualitative content analysis of the reactions to Høyer's post on her Instagram account and published on a fashion-oriented forum: The Fashion Spot. Manuel Castells' theory of network society and the concept of digital affect culture have been used as a framework to examine the problem. The results show significant differences between the reactions from the two platforms and prove that the marginalization of female models' voices in fashion has a long history.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2022. , p. 57
Keywords [en]
Ulrikke Høyer, Louis Vuitton, Instagram, fashion media platform, network society, digital affect culture, feminism, fashion body, fashion power, female marginalization
National Category
Media Studies Communication Studies
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-52955OAI: oai:DiVA.org:mau-52955DiVA, id: diva2:1670778
Educational program
KS K3 Media and Communication Studies (master)
Supervisors
Examiners
2022-06-282022-06-162022-06-28Bibliographically approved