Socialite phenomenon: How the
image of socialites being
constructed by mass media and
consumers?
Group 5:
Jamie Wang, Jennifer Wei,
Nikie Hsih, Tiffany Lee, Veronika
Kuo, Vicky Chuang, Vicky Wei
General Introduction
----Tiffany Lee
What are Socialites?
• What do you think socialites are? What conditions
do they hold?
• What can they do? What exactly do they do?
• Do you want to be one?
• How would you describe one?
• Have they always been there? Or are they created?
• (Madame Bovary is Me, a Cinderella story, 麻雀
變鳳凰, 大家閨秀, 千金?)
What are
Socialites?
• Socialite: (a) a socially prominent person.
(b) One prominent in fashionable
society.
• 1928, probably a coinage among writers and
editors at "Time" magazine, perhaps as a
contraction of social light, in imitation of words
in -ite. (dictionary.com)
Definition
----Vicky Chuang
4 types of socialites
• 1. Notable family background
• 2. Through marriage
(real-life Cinderella story )
• 3. Celebrities and models
• 4. Publicists of luxurious brands
Notable family background
• Born rich
• High social and economic status
• Eg. 孫芸芸, 蔡依倫, 廖曉喬, 關穎
Real-life Cinderella story
• Married to the rich
• E.g.. 小S, 李蒨蓉, 殷悅, 洪曉蕾
• NOKIA推出最新多媒體電腦手機N82，
邀請到時尚名媛洪曉蕾站台。(圖文/蘇永
在)
• “名媛捐包義賣 盼為喜憨兒募百萬”
• 日月光國際家飾高雄八五新館開幕系列活
動，昨天舉行「千金名媛經典名包大賞暨
慈善義賣」，亞細雅集團千金林青蓁、李
蒨蓉等人現身，捐出典藏的名牌包。
Celebrities and models
• With fame
• Attend fashion shows and parties
• E.g.. 林志玲, 孫燕姿
• “孫燕姿當名媛 大打婚事太極拳”
• (孫燕姿) 此行返台出席時尚秀，外界幫她冠上
「名媛」頭銜，她笑說：「名媛跟歌手身分，
我當然喜歡當歌手啊！因為比較像自己，但偶
爾像名媛，穿得漂亮還蠻有趣的。」
Publicists of luxurious brands
• Frequent contact with the media
• Familiar with named brands
• E.g.. 朱曉蓓, 石靈慧
Another type
• Beautiful, famous people but not belong to any
type above, e.g.. 連美雪, 江承澐
• The term, socialite, misused by the media,
e.g.. “名媛捐包義賣 盼為喜憨兒募百萬”,
“Fashion Queen 李蒨蓉任慈善大使 捐GUCCI
包”-----“身為Fashion Queen 的李蒨蓉今日穿著一襲亮眼印花飄逸
小洋裝配合秋冬最火紅的褲襪，搭配上最流行的黑色寬
腰帶及黑包鞋，出席慈善活動，不但捐出五年前自己剛
跑趴所購買的紅色晚宴包，不但是因為自己非常喜愛紅
色，更特色的是紅色搭上絨布，讓自己在任何晚宴都可
以成為最矚目焦點，更是聖誕節的搶手貨，其表面更運
用手工的珠珠讓包包呈現完美光澤，而更特別的是完全
無拉鏈設計而是以LOGO皮繩巧思，讓蒨蓉當時以歐元還
沒統一時購買折合台幣快3萬元買下的。而最喜歡的理由
之一，當然也是因為這是TOM FORD擔任GUCCI設計師
時所設計的皮件，TOM FORD是蒨蓉最喜愛的設計師之
一。”
What makes one a “socialite”?
•
•
•
•
•
Beautiful appearance
With fame
Rich (at least looking rich)
Frequently show up in public
Aware of the fashion trend
Symbols & Lifestyle
----Vicky Wei
Symbols exist everywhere
• Food & Drink
• Brand-name Products
• Socialites
• Pop Stars
…
Functions of Symbols in Consumption
1. Showing what kind of merchandise an
individual will purchase
2. Showing an individual’s social status
Symbolic Consumption
• Mass Media as a conductor
• Consumers receive a sense of
self-confidence and self-identification
through buying symbols
• Reach an ideal self
Lifestyle of Socialites
• Name-brand clothes, shoes, accessories, etc.
• Participate in Fashion shows, Parties, etc.
• High quality life:
Pedicure, manicure, facial, spa, fitness
Expensive food, cars, yacht
Luxurious Travel
• Press Conference, News Paper, Magazines
• Making friends with someone who are also
rich
How socialites influence consumption
• Conspicuous Consumption
Fame & High social status give symbols meaning
• Socialites are ideal symbols for people to follow
Some consumers copy their fashion styles
Believe some products are better than others by
promotions of socialites
• News of socialites
Best promotions to evoke people’s desires
A way to sell products
M-Shape Society & Fashion
----Jamie
M-Shape Society
• An economic term by Kenichi Ohmae, 1943
• In a well-developed capitalistic society,
middle class→ the largest group
• reversed U shape
M-Shape Society
• Middle class declining, moving
towards the two sides→ M shape
• Wealth concentrates on the rich→
lower class’s pursuit of the similar
lifestyle as the upper class
The Theory of the Leisure Class
• By Thorstein Veblen in 1899
• Conspicuous consumption
• Two processes of fashion:
1. Luxurious stuff of the upper class→
difference from the lower class
2. Lower class as followers→ the spread of
the trend
→ integrated influence→ circulation
Georg Simmel’s Definition-Fashion
• Class-conscious
• A concept of chase and flight
• The unity of the upper class; keeping out
the lower class
• The trend dominated by the upper class
• Lower class: followers, in keeping w/ the
same style
Georg Simmel’s Definition”Differentiation”
• 1. The circulation of the trend between the
two classes— one difference
• 2. upper class’s vanity: purchasing
expensive but useless stuff→ representation
the status
• The lower class not being able to afford —
the other difference
“Rituals”
• Showing off the wealth thru public activities
• Fashion shows, TV shows, socialites’ books,
the media, and the Internet
• → make ppl fall into the trap
Commercial Purposes
----Jennifer Wei
IV. Commercial Purposes
How consumers’ behaviors are affected?
• Reporting socialites’ high-classes lifestyle in all aspects:
beauty treatments, fashion taste, food, parties, etc.
• Candid photos snapped by Paparazzi /mentioning brand name
by accident= free promotion (example 1)
• Socialites = Authentic Opinion Leaders, icon.
• Teaching the audience how to be like them (example 2)
• News or advertisement?
News or Ads? Victim of Product Placement?
• Product placement advertisements are promotional ads
placed by marketers using real commercial products and
services in media, where the presence of a particular brand is
the result of an economic exchange.
• How product placement works?
In entertainment-related news or supplement page:
Marketers provide products→ invite socialites to take
photos with their products→ create an eye-catching
title→ create a feeling that socialites recommend those
products→ how much it costs and where to get it below
the news.
--Example in Apple Daily
Chloe招牌泡泡袖裝 孫芸芸買上癮
12/30/2007
時尚通孫芸芸是名副其實的Chloe專家，對於Chloe 08早春哪件
piece最優、如何搭較適合，問她最清楚。孫芸芸表示：「我平
常最愛穿Chloe短版傘狀外套搭Jeans和Converse，我覺得線條
簡單但很Stylish。」提及Chloe的招牌七分泡泡袖洋裝，她直點
頭：「嗯，我就是抵抗不了Chloe這類設計。」
Paddington
Chain小鎖頭包。
5萬9300元
壓克力鎖頭輕盈
08早春包款變化多端，Chloe除
把暢銷Paddington的鎖頭變成
透明壓克力，增加輕盈感，也
推出時髦的Clutch手拿包如
Nancy與Apple，Nancy的二手
皮革質感配壓克力提把頗有懷
舊風味，Apple手拿包的方正輪
廓與橘銅漆皮顯得前衛俐落。
Commercial Functions of Socialites
1.
2.
3.
4.
Attract audience’s attention
Media’s reports helps to enhance brand exposure
Stimulate Consumption( not only $)
Who will benefit?
--socialites (attending fee, different endorsement)
--suppliers (exposure)
--media (higher reach)
Mass media transcends messages and
greatly influence people’s consumption.
Consumption Habits
----Veronika Kuo
Consumption Habits
• Products and brands connected with celebrity easily take
media coverage.
• Viewers/listeners/readers are easily affected by these
media messages.
• People with different understandings toward
media ,fashion and self-identity have different ways to
read messages.
• Classify the ways into three groups :
a. oppositional position
b. negotiated position
c. dominant-hegemonic position
Oppositional Position
• Viewers/listeners/readers have abundant knowledge
of fashion.
• Know the purpose of the media: stimulate
fashionable consumption.
• Trust their own taste instead of the information of
product mass media provides with.
→higher self-identity.
Example of Oppositional Position
• Student V :
a. the way how celebrity dress is not fit for
everyone ,not an universal standard.
b. even if she likes David Beckham, she will not buy
the product Beckham speaks for if because it does
not go fits her.
• Student C:
a. she hate to be other’s shadow.
b. on finding people using the same products
as her, she will never use them again.
c. never buys the product connected with celebrity.
Negotiated Position
• viewers/listeners/readers have abundant knowledge
toward fashion.
• do notice about celebrity but only for those they
identify with.
a. admire celebrity’s taste and other substances
b. the product corresponds to their status
negotiate with their personal conditions
→ consuming based on their financial permission.
●
Examples of Negotiated Position
• Student J :
a. crazy about 孫芸芸, and regards her as an image.
b. would like to learn some characteristics of her like
independence and bright.
c. expect herself to perform like 孫芸芸‘s
characteristics.
• Student C :
a. really likes Prada’s new arrival purse, but without
enough money, she decides to give up.
Dominant-hegemonic Position
• viewers/listeners/readers have not enough
knowledge toward fashion.
• consider celebrity’s dress or coverage to be an index
of fashion
• taking celebrity as a reference to help them find
their taste.
• know not much about the product but follow the
trend blindly
→lower self-identity
Examples of Dominant-hegemonic Position
• Student A:
a. not used to using perfume.
b. After seeing the perfume advertisement of Chanel ,
she went to buy it.
• Student C :
a. feels like gaining self-identity through using the
same products with the celebrity.
Conclusion
----Nikie Hsieh
Symbolic consumption
- integrated by three aspects:
socialites, mass media, audience
- socialites as an representative of a new
life style
-People consume an image
socialites as a symbol
function:
-showing an individual’s social status
-commercial benefits
-consumer receive a sense of self-identity
through buying this symbol to reach an
ideal self the desire to be “the desired”
How it affect consumer behavior?
-socialites as an ideal symbol for people to
follow
-socialites=authentic opinion leaders=an icon
M-shaped society
socialites
Negotiated position-----
appropriate consumption!!!
Nigel: Well, not you, obviously, but some
people. You think this is just a
magazine, hmm? This is not just a
magazine. This a shining beacon of
hope …
---- quote from the Devil Wears Prada
This new way of consumption behavior--- symbolic
consumption system is actually an integration of the
mass media, socialites and audiences. While using
an oppositional reading to look at this phenomenon,
we have to be aware that we as consumers are just
purchasing an image which can not last for too long.
Meanwhile, we can not find our true self identities
through simply consuming socialites. Therefore,
instead of blindly following the trend, we should
learn to be appropriate consumers.
Thanks!!!
Works cited
吉佳媛，許秀珍，黃一平 (2007)。《戴著PRADA的媒體
時尚循環於媒體再現之研究》。國立政治大學廣播電
視學系碩一論文