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2008/6/16 毕业设计 - MISS SIXTY STORE懒得贴 也懒得解释了 随便贴几张图 随便凑合看看吧
PROJECT: MISS SIXTY STORE LOCATION: EDINBURGH CLIENT: MISS SIXTY DESIGNER: GIGI ZHU This project is to design a female fashion clothing store on Princes Street in Edinburgh, which is the main shopping area in Edinburgh. It is for the Italian feminine Jeans brand called Miss Sixty.
The Brand: Miss Sixty Place of origin: Italy Designer: Wichy Hassan MISS SIXTY MISS SIXTY is a line of clothing which is part of the Sixty Group brand of clothing. Born in 1991, MISS SIXTY has conquered its own space over the years and become one of the most appreciated and well-known female brands around the world, and has become one of the most welcomed brands in the Sixty Group. MISS SIXTY’s target customers are demanding young women who are continuously in search of innovation, originality and variety; customers who love playing with garments and define their look and style from time to time. Miss Sixty is first and foremost appreciated for its wide range of jeans and for its original and unique proposals. MISS SIXTY has today become increasingly feminine, sexy and glamorous, yet without losing its typical ironical touch. In addition, Miss Sixty launched its own line of footwear, eyewear line, kids’ line of clothing, fragrance, its own brand of jewellery and leather goods, underwear and beachwear.
Sixty Hotel in Riccione (Italy) is the first of a 4 star chain of Hotels created by Sixty Group. The Sixty Group utilized their brand esthetics to found the Sixty hotel perfectly match the fashion symbol. The Sixty hotel, as well as included the pub and café, and the Sixty hotel store. The innovative hotel of Sixty allows a short virtual trip where art, design and fashion are interlaced in a stylish match of colours, shapes and different materials. 30 young emerging artists from all over the world have contributed to make this hotel unique in its style. A new space where people can meet and chat from their rooms creating a special and exclusive Sixty Community. The Sixty Hotel is more than a pure lodging, it’s an artistic, design and fashion experience!
The Site:
40 Princes Street is the most significant new development in Edinburgh since the 1960's. It is now known as the new H&M building. The building is located at the corner of St David’s Street and the corner of St Andrew’s street, situated at the east end of Princes Street and opposite Princes Mall in the west direction. The frontage is articulated with large panels of sandstone and glass that deeply recess or hold the plot line. Through the use of natural Scottish Sandstone and the glass elevation, the building sits harmoniously with the traditional architecture of Princes Street. The composition is anchored by a dramatic vertical atrium which acknowledges the axial relationship with Waverley Bridge. The overall completion of this building was achieved in September 2005. This project has taken the ground floor and the first floor from this building for the Miss Sixty store.
My aim in this project:
The space organization in this store is to arrange the ground floor area for selling Miss Sixty jeans and first floor area is for Miss Sixty fashion clothing and accessories like shoes, hand bags and jewellery. Since the denim products, which take up over 45% among all the categories, are always the best sellers of the Miss Sixty products around the world, I would like customers to be aware of them at their first glance. Therefore there’s a denim wall sitting directly opposite the main entrance. As the customers walk through the door, their first line of focus will be on the denim wall which consists of rolled jeans, as well as some flat jeans hanging on the wall.
The Miss Sixty store has a versatile character: it drives our senses and constantly makes our eye wander to see everything that is available. My main scheme in this design is to make a large circular void in the middle of the building. There is a curved staircase that goes up from the ground floor to the first floor, following the shape of the circular void. The front part of the staircase is solid and is covered with a red plastic surface. The other part of the stair is constructed with stainless steel and glass. There is a transparent glass wall lift near the staircase so that the shoppers can see through the whole retail area from ground floor to first floor by using the lift. There is also a denim dummy hanging from the middle of the void. Shoppers can appreciate the limited edition Miss Sixty jeans which hang around the dummy when they go upstairs. Also, there are some crystal ball curtain hanging around the void and falling from the ground floor ceiling. The reason for having a large void is so that shoppers can easily see through some parts of the first floor retail area from the ground, as well as the ceiling. As the topography of this building is higher than eye level when people walk along from the Waverley Bridge, the ceiling is will appear to people’s eyes first. The ceiling is one of the special elements in this design as it has different height levels and different shapes; the ceiling shapes also reflect the same shapes on the floor but with opposite color. The first floor ceiling above the void is formed by dropping different heights of cylinders from it, following the circular design of the whole store. Glossy red ceiling are lit with warm lights which is hidden inside the cylinders.
The main color of the store is red and white, just like the Miss Sixty logo – red words with white background. The balustrade around the void which on the first floor is extended as hangers, customers could select the clothing on the hangers when they walk around.
The pay counter in the first floor, near the main entrance, is not only for paying, but also for arranging hotel bookings. The shape of the pay counter is the same as the Miss Sixty logo - the number ‘60’. People could see through this significant symbol from the street. The product display box behind the pay counter which has some charming blue lighting inside is just the same as the exterior of the Sixty Hotel.
The Changing rooms are always changing! Each changing room is constructed by three different Miss Sixty patterned curtain layers. Customers could pull down any of these three layers when they are changing, so the changing room seems like it is changing all the time as people pull the different patterned curtain up and down when they go to change. As all the patterns are different, each changing room is different as well. The whole changing room area in the first floor is higher than the store floor level. However, customers can walk up to the changing room area with a ramp, and it is also suitable for the disabled. The side of the ramp is also the seating; shoppers could sit there while waiting for their friend’s trying on new clothes. The floor material in the changing room area is black downy carpet. The reason being is create a contrast materials texture and colour schemes, from smooth to coarse, hard to soft.
The shoe retail area in first floor has lots of transparent shoe boxes which make up into the word ‘Miss Sixty’. The shoe boxes are transparent and one of the sides on the wall is mirror, that customers could see the shoes completely from 360 degrees. The shoe boxes are like drawers and the shoes are displayed inside the boxes. The shoppers could pull out the boxes while selecting.
Pay counter
scale 1:20 concept model of the staircase
scale 1:100 model of the store
How does the luxury market ‘encourage’ the expansion of the counterfeit market in China?
Dissertation/毕业论文:
How does the luxury market ‘encourage’ the expansion of the counterfeit market in China?
Warning!!Copy right Ⓡ!
Please do not copy anything from this article.
警告！！版權所有！
請勿從此文章複製任何句子。
IntroductionPLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
The economy in China has developed very quickly over the last three decades, and a number of luxury brands have been found globally, especially in the developed countries. Following the success of the luxury market, this essay is going to demonstrate the significance of the luxury market in China and intends to argue if people cannot afford to buy luxury goods, why is it that fakes can satisfy them? What is the significance of the existence of the counterfeit market in China and how does the luxury market ‘encourage’ the expansion of the counterfeit market in China? These questions will be answered by considering specific examples of the luxury market and the counterfeit market for handbags in China. The essay also alludes to the idea that luxury goods consumption and counterfeit goods consumption are both expressions of materialism related to increasing wealth in China. The increase in consumption of luxury goods and counterfeit goods has also been driven by desire to show status and belonging. PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
First of all, the term ‘fashion’ is defined as ‘a popular style of clothing and hair’. According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, the ‘fashion’ is ‘at a particular time or place, the state of being popular’[1] and expresses people’s aesthetic sense. In an extract from the book The end of fashion: the mass marketing of clothing business, written by Teri Agins, who has covered the fashion business at The Wall Street Journal for ten years, it has these expressions : When enough people accept a specific clothing style at any one time then that style becomes fashionable. ‘Fashion is perplexing, intriguing, irritating and, above all, compulsive.’ Since the very beginning, people have put in a lot of effort into dressing in a stylish manner. Fashion is a way of life for many people because it is glamorous. People with different backgrounds and social classes interact with it. Fashion, by definition is a target that keeps moving.[2] Fashion is important to society and the clothes we wear make a statement about our personality. People build up their wardrobes to stay in style. They spent days on creating fashion style to suit the variation of the fashion trend in different periods. Fashion can be regarded as the variation of the custom and the custom can be seen as the regular form of fashion. PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
However, how has fashion changed in China? There is an extremely long clothing history in China of five thousands years. The encyclopedia shows that in China, fashion was very different to many other cultures as contemporary fashion was not accepted until much later. The style of clothes varied greatly according to the social or historical period.[3]PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
The first chapter of this essay will offer a perspective on how fashion has changed and demonstrate that luxury goods have a new role in Chinese society. It will show that shifts in attitudes towards luxury goods have had a significant impact on the sales of and demand for handbags. The essay will then move on to explore the current market for luxury handbags in China by considering the reasons for its existence, the increase in the size of this market and the benefits and drawbacks of the sector. It will include a comparative analysis of the Chinese luxury fashion market in relation to Western luxury fashion markets. The third chapter aims to reveal the connection between the increase in the luxury market and the counterfeit market. It will present an analysis of the motivation for purchasing fake fashion goods and reflect on the influence of wealth and materialism on the increase in the size of the Chinese counterfeit fashion market and present a specific case study.PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Chapter 1 Luxury goods have a new role in Chinese society
This chapter will define the economic changes and specific nature of Chinese fashion and how this is responsible, in part, for the expansion of the Chinese luxury fashion market.PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Nowadays, luxury good companies have expanded and are now earning a lot of money. The majority of luxury goods companies such as Louis Vuitton has come from Europe and has already controlled a great share in the market. In the 80s, these companies all started to expand overseas. At the end of the 80s, these European luxury goods companies had already succeeded in entering to Hong Kong, and some Asian countries such as Japan. As a result, customers in these areas are indulged through the availability of luxury goods that play the role of status symbols. Such goods tend to signify the purchasing power of those who acquire them. PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
The spread of luxury culture is rather typical in Asian countries. The relentless expansion of luxury good in Asia is mainly driven by the unremitting prosperity of Asian economy. Following this, Japan is the most successful example; the Japanese LV Corporation earned 3% of 2 billion pounds of the whole world LV corporation profit last year. Not only that, the Japanese luxury goods consumption has also achieved 17% of the total consumption volume in the world.[4] Moreover, the Japanese continue to purchase luxury goods when on holiday, even if it takes hours to line up in the long queue for a purchase in the Coco Chanel store in France. Likewise, the size of the luxury goods market of China and Japan will become more balanced when the Chinese economical level is equal to Japan. The purpose of taking the example of the Japanese is that luxury goods consumption with reference to the Chinese and Japanese is similar in that they both are attracted to Western luxury goods. One of the common ground of the Asian culture is ‘conquer’. Almost every Asian country has been colonised in the past. Despite the form of subjugation from foreign powers, the Asian people had been living a hard life. Their back-breaking hard work is often coupled with low earning and low social status. Repression and deprivation has caused hunger which made their dream and desire remotely distant. When these are vanished at the end of 20th century, their desire for luxury erupted.[5] Thus, the Chinese and Japanese customers have the same attitude of buying luxury goods. The luxury goods market in Asian countries has infinite potential to develop. PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
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Figure 1 queue up for purchasing Louis Vuitton handbag, (2007)
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However, in 1964, almost anything that was seen as part of Traditional Chinese culture would lead to problems with the Communist Red Guards. Red Guards were young revolutionary activists and a powerful political force during the Cultural Revolution. They wore ‘national-defence green’ army-style uniforms. (As figure 2 shown) Similarly, any form of fashion that connoted western fashion was problematic. At that time, everyone was supposed to have the same style, thus, fashion in this period cannot be discussed. As figure 3 shown, men’s jacket of blue polyester-cotton drill made in China in the 1970s. This uniform style jacket was worn by the majority of the Chinese population during the period 1950s to 1970s and became the sartorial symbol of communist China.[6] As a result, there is no significance of the existence of the luxury fashion in from 1950s to 1970s in China. As Chinese people were poor at that stage, probably having enough clothing to keep warm would be luxurious for them. People wearing fashion items such as jeans, high heels, western-style coats, ties, jewelry and long hair in public may suffer serious consequences. For example, they may get tortured or beaten by guards. As these items were regarded as symbols of bourgeois lifestyle and represented wealth. A number of these items were thrown out into the middle of the streets to embarrass the citizens.[7] In short, as everyone was required to wear the same thing, fashion had no meaning during the 50s to 70s in China and there was no luxury goods market at this time.PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Figure 2 Red Guard outfit from the Cultural Revolution 1966-76
Figure 3 Men’s jacket of blue polyester-cotton drill made in China in the 1970s
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Since 1978 when China started to reform and open-up, its economy has been developing rapidly and the living standards of the Chinese people have been notably improved. The unprecedented social changes have injected great vigor into China’s development and have given great vitality to the global economy. Chinese have changed regarding the judgment of ‘fashion’ value rapidly in these 20 years. In fact, the most obviously and explicit performance of fashion lies in the popular fashionable clothing. At the end of the 90s, due to China remarkable achievements in economic and social development, people realized that the material civilization has extremely inflated and the spiritual civilization is unable to follow the material civilization. Therefore, they began to pursue the fashion trend and to make themselves suitable to the materialism ideology. Around the People's Republic of China era in 1990s, especially in Shanghai, there has been a great preference to the western look. Adults in the streets would wear formal clothes rather than casual, teenagers prefer to choose the brands, and the children would wear clothes with cartoon characters on it.[8] There has been an obsession with brands in China. As a result, the fashion trend springs up people when people get more wealth.PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
And now, as the prosperous Chinese economy accomplished and unceasingly expanded the large quantity of millionaires and middle class, China has completely entered the stage for building up a well-off society. Significantly, Chinese also respond quickly to the changes of the fashion world, the extremely fast speed has attracted attention of the giants of luxury goods. As the Chinese economy prospers, the elite minority of consumers starts to love Hermes bags and western luxury goods. And as more and more Chinese travel in Europe, they begin to fall in love with LV and Gucci handbags. Many European luxury good makers then start to dominate the fashion market in China. Brands such as LVMH, Richemont and Gucci have established their stores in China to build up a foundation for gathering more consumers. These luxury brands had soon been recognized by the Chinese customers and they are successful in marketing with catching the psychology of Chinese customers. As people get more wealth, they would like to purchase luxury goods to satisfy their need of materialism. Following this, the luxury goods have got a large share of market in China.PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Figure 4 Louis Vuitton handbags, Louis Vuitton catalog, (2007)PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
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In addition, after several dozen years of poor life, the Chinese suddenly craves to show their wealth which they just obtained. Some of them are called the second wealthy generation and most people would like to call them the new wealthy class in China. They also entered the magnate circle and their figs show that they are getting used to the luxurious lifestyle. The luxury goods have taken some new concepts to Chinese. However, experts estimated that, there is only 1% of the thirteen million Chinese have enough income to afford the luxury goods at present. It has been predicted that, when Chinese people’s income achieve 1300 pounds in average, the Chinese luxury goods consumption will rise rapidly.[9] Furthermore, marketing analysts estimated that the Chinese luxury goods consumers will finally achieve one thousands million people which will be equally matched with Japan and the Chinese luxury market will finally become the biggest in the world. PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
In consequence, this entire chapter tells how fashion developed and why the luxury goods become an important market in China. As a rule, the fashion’s variation mainly depends on the economic development in China. The more rich people are, the more luxury goods they would like to buy. The model of luxury culture dissemination is the basic tool in understanding the spread of luxury culture in Asian markets. The main characteristics are individual affluence, positive peer pressure and attention towards quality which largely contribute towards the rapid expansion of luxury culture.[10] In brief, the luxury fashion itself does not make a big difference, it is the attitude that changes.PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
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Chapter 2 The expansion of the Chinese luxury handbag market
The following chapter will introduce idea of expansion, define what a luxury good is, and discuss why the luxury handbag market can have an expansion in China. PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Gradually, the luxury goods market is increasing in China. Nowadays, China has become a region where the consumption of luxury goods increases the most rapidly in the world. More and more luxury brands speed up their paces in taking Chinese market. At present almost all the global premium brands have subsidiaries in China. For luxury goods, China is a new land. For the luxury handbag, it is also a good market.PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Obviously, handbags are feminine products often fashionably designed and used to hold a number of personal essential items. ‘Handbags are about fashion, about desire, about secrecy, craftsmanship, art, and imagination as well as about the changing roles of women--everything that's packed into every important bag.’[11] This phrase clearly defines the role and the meaning of the handbags for women and for the whole society.PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Always, ‘expensive, luxury brands mean more than the enjoyment of culture. The intrinsic drive to purchase luxury goods is the pursuit of fantasy, aspiration and desire. Luxury cannot be realized without a strong emotional experience and psychological satisfaction.’[12] The more the customers know it, the more they enjoy it. So, the luxury brands usually do not ask what the consumers want, but tell them what they should have. PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Moreover, the advantages of buying luxury handbags are that they are beautiful, attractive, in good quality, and more durable. Buying luxury handbags can also give the customers the feeling of taking care of themselves, so as to help them to reduce the stress of modern life. As well, buying luxury handbags can help the customers to have a good relation with their friends, as they can have a common topic to talk about. PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
In general, luxury goods are things which are expensive and enjoyable but not essential. They are something for which demand increases as income rises. People would buy more luxury goods when they become richer, the more expensive the good is, the more luxury it represents. In the fashion area, the luxury brand can be described as a perfect product designed by the famous designers and made with good materials. For example, the famous fashion brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Christian Dior are considerated as luxury brands over the world and their products are marked by better-quality components and materials, solid construction, stylish appearance, increased durability, better performance, advanced features and so on.PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Luxury handbags companies like Louis Vuitton, take a uniform and globalised strategy. Instead of creating new brands or special products to fit local culture, they sell the same products in all markets. The luxury goods companies use the same advertisements in the world. The promotion scheme is usually designed in the head office, and then announced to the branch stores in the worldwide. The luxury goods companies normally do not take Asian spokespersons and the Asian customers might prefer Western models for these advertisements, because the Western celebrities with the Western brands, that seems more posh. In addition, the luxury goods companies usually publish their advertisements in high fashion magazines instead of on television, for luxury goods are not for the general populace. This way of promotion can manifest the honor of the luxury goods.PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
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Figure 5 Louis Vuitton spokespersons - Jennifer Lopez
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There are three main reasons for people to buy luxury handbags: quality trends, status and sense of belonging. Some people are seriously enamored with the luxury brands and luxury goods. This phenomenon is well presented when the ipod was first released, as there was overnight queuing. PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
The Chinese luxury handbags market sounds very intriguing. In the eyes of modern Chinese people, the charm of luxury fashion comes from the western luxury culture. The western luxury fashion has attracted numerous Chinese women who are crazy about it. Chinese modern women can be found everywhere and lead the fashion all the time. These trendy and rich young urban ladies are willing to well treat themselves and indulge in the glamour of luxury handbags. As a result, more and more western luxury brands became the choice of Chinese fortune world. In the extract of the Creative Review section, Williams E lists ‘a note of designers now heading up multimillion pound luxury goods business who make the bulk of their revenues from handbags, the concerns of branding, it is alleged, have overtaken the expression of ideas.’[13] Some rich Chinese consumers have readily confessed that they would like to walk out of a shop knowing they have overpaid. For these wealthy ladies, only high-ranking brands like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Chanel could match their status. Therefore, handbags of western luxury brands can be easily found in the hand of the Chinese socialites. For this reason, the market of luxury handbags extends in China. Chinese and Western luxury fashion coexist in harmony through possession of the luxury goods by the Chinese fortune world. As Lakoff, Robin listed that, ‘beauty is fashion. It is determined to meet people’s specific needs at a particular time and place. It is unpredictable and not based on any sort of universal aesthetic.’[14]PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Furthermore, the biggest difference between the western and Chinese luxury markets is that the Chinese luxury goods consumers are more numerous and they are extremely young. The western luxury market is more targeted at older customers who are above 40 years old and the eastern luxury market is more geared towards young customers who are 20 to 40 years old or even younger.[15] Thus, the luxury handbags are not just for the mature people anymore.PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
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Figure 6 Chinese young customers are keen on using luxury handbags
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Nevertheless, Chinese and Asian consumers are always keen to be ahead of the trend. The Asians are the mobile advertisement of the luxury handbags because over 30% Asian people at the shopping mall have Louis Vuitton, Gucci or other luxury handbags in hand, although some of them are counterfeits. As figure 7 shown, the Chinese consumers are shopping in the Louis Vuitton department store like shopping in the supermarket. Therefore, the luxury handbags brands are disseminated by the customer themselves as well. PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
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Figure 7 the Chinese Louis Vuitton supermarket
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The increase of consumption of luxury goods has also been driven by the desire to show status.PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
People start showing off their wealth by purchasing luxury handbags. Affluence on its own seems never enough. They want to be seen differently and respected. Therefore, luxury handbags became the ubiquitous ‘social identity’. They represent the people’s opulent family and help them to attain certain social status and to earn others’ admiration and envy.PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Luxury handbags conquer the Asian market by their collectivism. Luxury brands became necessities for showing the social identity of people. Pressure will appear when some ones start wearing Gucci or Prada and others will buy them too so as to prevent being looked down or for the sole purpose of face saving.[16] Thus, adaptation is one of the reasons why people choose to buy luxury handbags.PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Luxury handbags are now a status symbol around the world and are often looked in the world of fashion. ‘There was strong agreement in our survey that owning luxury goods demonstrates success and status, and it also showed that many people long for luxury goods, even though they cannot afford them at the moment.’ says Anson Bailey, principal of business development for China and Hong Kong.[17] The reason why luxury goods companies took their market in China, is that Chinese have very strong brand consciousness and they are fastidious about status.PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Furthermore, luxury goods are the best thing to show the elegance, the taste and the sense of leading the trend. The customers will be more attractive and glamorous with the luxury handbags as they believe that luxury handbags can provide a unique style which can stay at the peak of the fashion trend. When luxury goods become a way of life, consumers are very astute in assessing the quality of the luxury goods which further enforces the practice of using them. The luxury goods play an important role in displaying one’s social identity. To proof the visible index of power and status, luxury handbags is fashionable statements with qualities of success, importance, attraction and desirability. The design of the ‘LV’ pattern of the Louis Vuitton handbag is recognizable and symbolizes the aristocrat status. The design can be out of date, but the meanings are eternal. PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Undoubtedly, the consumers consider the price more when they are shopping and the price of luxury handbags is obviously very expensive, often 10 times or more than normal handbags. The reason why the consumers still want to buy the luxury handbags, is that their status is involved. Not rich enough to buy villas or limousines, Chinese consumers concentrate their spending on personal accessories such as luxury handbags at this stage. They have different ways for revealing their place in the society. PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
However, who are the fixed customers of the luxury handbags? Of course, the rich persons and the celebrities. Therefore they will always be living fashion icons for other consumers. As a result, the elements which infect the consumption of luxury goods are the economic basic, the status and connoisseurship. This means if you want to become a real member of the group of luxury consumerism, you will have a lot of money and a high social status. However, most customers are buying the luxury goods to show off and to compete with others.PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
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Figure 8 celebrities and luxury handbags
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The desire to belong is a result of Chinese history, social structure and cultural background and so on. As Chinese has gone through the last several decade a poor life, while they obtained some wealth, they would like to have something in unique style and show off that everything they gained are better than others. Some customers in China want to keep in touch with the luxury fashion. For example, an article from the Chinese ‘Wealth Magazine’[18] tells that two month's salary can be spent on a Louis Vuitton monogram handbag just because they want to own it when others have one. Some customers even take loans from the bank, to continue buying luxury handbags. In this case, it seems a bit ridiculous. They are buying luxury handbags blindly as they just want to follow the trend. William Shakespeare foresaw wrote: ‘fashion wears out more apparel than the man.’[19]PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Furthermore, luxury handbags might help the customers to continue learning more about the design and culture, and build up the connoisseurship. They may not only help the customers to express their individual style and interest, but also evoke the envy of others.PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
On the other hand, luxury represents materialism and a hollow life, so there are some disadvantages of buying luxury handbags. Some scholars[20] have pointed out that several persons think fashion is all about shopping and buying luxury goods. They also think rich people create fashion and the more they buy the more fashionable they become. Therefore, they keep shopping and buying luxury handbags which they do not need very much. PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
In a word, luxury handbags can denote the wealth, the status, as well as the materialism.PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Chapter 3 The expansion of the counterfeit handbags market in ChinaPLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
The counterfeit market for luxury handbags is driven not simply by price but also by the pressure of fashion and the desire to belong. The Chinese counterfeit market is booming in producing imitated brand-name goods. While the luxury handbag market is increasing, the counterfeit handbags market raises in the same speed in China. Counterfeit is an imitation that is made usually with the intent to deceptively represent the content of its origin. PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Undoubtedly, the counterfeit handbag is a copy of the luxury handbag, although they look similar, the quality and the materials are highly different and consumers know that the handbag is a fake at this price. As figure 9 and 10 shown, the left hand side shows the original Gucci handbag and the right hand side shows the counterfeit Gucci handbag. Both of them look similar, however, you can set apart them by the pattern. As the counterfeit one is low quality and made with the wrong pattern and the real one with finer details.PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
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Figure 9 a real Gucci handbag
Figure 10 a counterfeit Gucci handbag
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What make people buy counterfeit handbags? The best reason is pride. Everyone has pride; no matter he is rich or poor. People buy luxury handbags because they are proud and want to show off, and wish others to approve of their power and status. For those who cannot afford the real luxury handbags, the counterfeit could satisfy them. They believe the counterfeit handbags can make them closer to the fortune world. Customers believe that designer labels and logos give them a high-class status, and make them fashionable in the eyes of others. But they must keep quiet about the origin, because when people find out it is a counterfeit, this will affect their status.[21]PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
In addition, people buy counterfeit in order to belong and to own an exclusive product. The price of counterfeits allows them to do this. Price is a main element for people to buy counterfeit handbags as it is not everyone who has enough money to purchase luxury handbags. In general, the counterfeit handbags are mass produced and the luxury handbags are much more meticulous with fine details. But the counterfeit handbags have set apart by different level of quality and of course the prices for each type are different. Sometimes it is hard to differentiate the better quality type of counterfeit handbags with the real luxury handbags. Consumers holding the point that nobody would know it is a counterfeit, would like to purchase the fakes in good quality. The counterfeit and original are sold in completely different ways. For example, counterfeit handbags are usually sold by street vendors or temporary discount stores. Although customers are aware of that these goods are fake, they still want to purchase them, lying to themselves that they are just ‘factory seconds’ or even ‘they fell off the back of a truck’.[22]PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
In fact, making, selling or even purchasing counterfeits are illegal. Jane Pauitt tells us that it is not completely the counterfeit manufacture’s fault because if nobody was prepared to buy fakes there would be no demand for the production of counterfeits. However, many people want to buy counterfeit products.[23] The counterfeit handbags market has strong connection with the luxury handbags market. Without the luxury handbags market, the counterfeit market will not keep. On the other hand, the luxury handbags market has hoisted its sales volume because the counterfeit handbags market promotes more people to know their products. PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
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Figure 11 tons of counterfeit luxury handbags are track down by policeman in China
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According to European Union customs statistics and the Chinese luxury marketing research, the biggest Chinese counterfeit handbag market sells an estimated 6 million pounds worth of goods a year, with over 20,000 customers on a busy day. This market is targeted at foreign tourists and also local customers. In 2003, 60% of the 92 million counterfeit articles seized at EU borders were from China.[24] The Chinese commercial officials have started to crack down the fakes, for counterfeit goods infect the fashion and luxury market, as well as they are illegal to the protection of foreign trademarks. Nevertheless, after hundreds of illegal factories were closed and hundreds of thousands of counterfeit articles were destroyed, the counterfeit market survived as the vendors are still willing to get high profits from the fakes.PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
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Figure 12 Adidas advertisement - ‘fake hurts real’
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The counterfeit handbags market impacts the development of the luxury handbags market. A group of luxury brands like Burberry, Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Prada tried to take some new approaches to crack down the counterfeits. Counterfeit handbags upset the luxury handbags market. As figure above shown, an advertisement of Adidas says ‘fake hurts real’, trying to persuade people to help crack down the fakes. PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
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Figure 13 Louis Vuitton Adv. (2005)
Figure 14 Louis Vuitton Adv.
Figure 15 Pigs Endure Logo Treatment, (2005)
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Figure 11 shows a celebrity wearing ‘LV’ tattoo and looks beautiful and elegant. Figure 12 shows the advertisement of Louis Vuitton with a man wearing ‘LV’ pattern tattoo of glasses. Figure 13 shows pigs with tattoo of ‘LV’ pattern. These three figures have a common ground of tattoo of ‘LV’ pattern and the difference between these three figures is their protagonists, a woman, a men and pigs. These advertisements show how elegant tattoo of ‘LV’ pattern on the human body and ask does it mean the same on animals? PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
There is a horrid fascination about counterfeits. McDowell says, ‘Clothes were a tool of oppression, a weapon wielded against the poor.’[25] Thus, the consumers’ behavior to buy counterfeit handbags is a reaction of their psychology. Buying counterfeit handbags is the desire of some persons, for they wish to be considered as member of high class. In this case, ‘fashion wears people’, which means it is not people who lead fashion, but the fashion who leads people’s choice. PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
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Figure 16 Anya Hindmarch - I'm Not a Plastic Bag
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Normally, the price of counterfeits is lower than the original luxury goods, but sometimes, the fakes cost more than the original. There is now an example, the cream bag with grey lettering says ‘I'm Not a Plastic Bag’ and without a special looking, design by Anya Hindmarch, a British accessories designer known mostly for her leather handbags as well as small leather goods, luggage, shoes and clothes, is in high quality but with a low price and to help the promotion of the concept to protect the environment. It was released on July 2007 and attracted a great attention in the world, especially in the Asian countries. It became very popular. In New York, 20,000 were sold in a short period and in Taiwan and in Hong Kong, the riot policemen were called in for the long queue in front of the shops.[26]PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
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Figure 17 Hundreds of people were line up and waiting for hours to buy the Anya Hindmarch bag in Hong Kong
Figure 18 the celebrities are having ‘I'm not a plastic bag’ in hand
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With the popularity of this bag, the fakes came out soon, at a price higher than the original. There are dozens of thousands of copies of the bag and over half of them have been sold in China. To earn more money from this luxury brand, vendors fixed a price higher than the originals for the fakes. Why did the phenomenon appear? The desire to own an exclusive product is the reason and a result of contemporary social and economic structure. Some customers do not take care of the luxury fashion or art. Therefore, the art and value of the luxury handbags is lost. Besides, there are always more choices in the counterfeit handbags market, for there are more colors or more sizes to choose. And for the bags of limited edition, lots of people have no chance to buy the original ones, therefore, they have to go to the counterfeit handbags market to buy the fakes, even with a higher price. As a result, some customers don’t take care of the price, but they are willing to own an exclusive product.PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Figure 19 the fake bags even have more type of choice than the original one
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The development of the counterfeit handbags market will still go on and will be involved in Chinese people’s daily life. This is because it is something which can help enhance the quality of people’s life. But in fact, it is not necessary to buy the counterfeit handbags if someone just wants to show off and pretend to be wealthy, as the counterfeit handbags consumption is illegal, why risk purchasing it? Not being jealous and making moderate purchases is the best way for a good life.PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
As shown, counterfeit handbags are always acquired as a result of the existence of desires. The counterfeit handbags make people suffer from the changes of luxury fashion, lose themselves and increase the feeling of isolation. It is a wrong way to access luxury fashion. Instead, it is the way to indicate materialism. If people want to be more attractive, there’re lots of alternatives, as having good fashion sense, making use of cosmetics and clothes to exert their personality, without paying attention to if it is luxury brand or not.PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
ConclusionPLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
In conclusion, people want to buy more and more luxury goods when they get wealthier. The luxury fashion itself does not make a big difference, it is an attitude that people adopt. As Mark Jones says, ‘The customers are buying an illusion – the illusion of status, of belonging, of success, conferred by the fraudulent reproduction of a famous name.’[27] People want to buy luxury handbags to satisfy their desires. And the counterfeit market is booming with the imitated goods, for it can satisfy the desires of those people who cannot afford the luxury goods. Thus, the luxury goods consumption and the counterfeit goods consumption both express the materialism. In a word, the expansion of the counterfeit market in China has occurred as a consequence of the changes of the social, economic and cultural realities of the country. As Craig Clunas notes ‘It was [a] combination of developed market structures with an enlarged but insecure body of the consumers which made the late Ming period one of the great ages of Chinese faking, paralleled only by the northern Song (960-1127) and the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries.’[28]PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Dissertation information
Dissertation/毕业论文:
How does the luxury market ‘encourage’ the expansion of the counterfeit market in China?
Warning!!Copy right Ⓡ!
Please do not copy anything from this article.
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請勿從此文章複製任何句子。
Course title:
Centre for visual and cultural studies / Research Project
School and Department: Interior Design 4th Year
Name: GiGi
Tutor’s name: Emma Gieben - Gamal
The required submission date:
By 12 noon on Wednesday 09 January, 2008
The task’s name:
CVCS Level 4 – Dissertation / Research Essay
A title relevant to submission:
How does the luxury market ‘encourage’ the expansion of the counterfeit market in China?
Word count: 5599
SummaryPLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
The growing success of the luxury market is essential for the survival, and success, of the counterfeit market in China. The reason for their survival is that people continuously buy the counterfeit goods, even though they know it’s fake, because they do not have the money to buy the real thing. The luxury goods consumption and the counterfeit goods consumption both express materialism PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
By buying these luxury goods, or fake goods, people believe that they will have a higher status, they will be looked upon as being successful and they would feel belonged. PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
The expansion of the counterfeit market in China has occurred as a consequence of the changes of the social, economic and cultural realities of the country. People in China are much wealthier nowadays and buy luxury goods to show off their wealth. PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
The counterfeit goods business is blooming and very profitable, as people won’t stop purchasing these counterfeit goods. They hold on to the illusion that these “fake” luxury goods will enhance their quality of life. Whereas I believe the best way to enhance quality of life is: not being jealous and making moderate purchases is the best way for a good life. PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Footnote:
[1] Sally Wehmeier, Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, (sixth edition), 2000, p 459 PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
[2] Agins, T. The end of fashion: the mass marketing of clothing business, New York, 1999, page 7 PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
[3] Fashion of China, [internet], available from Wikipedia encyclopedia,<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fashion_of_China> [accessed 20th October 2007]
[4] Miles, S. Japanese Consumer Still Drive Luxe Boom, (October 30, 2000), available from <http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-66809241.html> [accessed 13th November 2007]
[5] Radha Chadha and Paul Husband, the Cult of the Luxury Brand: Inside Asia's Love Affair with Luxury, London (January 9, 2007)
[6] Claire Roberts, evolution & revolution: Chinese dress 1700s – 1900s, (1997) Australia, p23 PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
[7] Fashion of China, [internet], available from Wikipedia encyclopedia,<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fashion_of_China> [accessed 20th October 2007]
[8] Fashion of China, [internet], available from Wikipedia encyclopedia,<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fashion_of_China> [accessed 20th October 2007]
[9] The Luxury-Goods Trade: Up market Philosophy, Economist (US), December, 1992 PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
< http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb5037/is_199212/ai_n18305815> [accessed 13th November 2007]
[10] Radha Chadha and Paul Husband, the Cult of the Luxury Brand: Inside Asia's Love Affair with Luxury, London (January 9, 2007)
[11] Anna Johnson, Handbags: The Power of the Purse, New York (October 2002)
[12] Susan Xiao, China’s luxury goods market - what are the critical success factors for luxury goods companies looking to expand in China? (Beijing, December 16 2005), Beijing Intentional programmed PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
[13] Williams, E (2006), Business Model. Creative Review, 26(4)April, p45 PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
[14] Lakoff, Robin Tolmach. Scherr, Face Value, the politics of beauty, (England, 1984), p29
[15] Luxury brands, youth extravagance, (August 25, 2006) from Youth Weekend (Chinese magazine) PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
[16] Radha Chadha and Paul Husband, the Cult of the Luxury Brand: Inside Asia's Love Affair with Luxury, London (January 9, 2007)
[17] Is China's Luxury Goods Market a 'Pot of Gold' for Marketers? article from Wharton University, (July 18, 2007)
[18] Chinese luxury goods consumption is bubble, from ‘Wealth Magazine’ , (Chinese magazine), June 2007, p15
[19] William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, (July 1, 1998 America) PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
[20] Chinese luxury goods consumption is bubble, from ‘Wealth Magazine’ , (Chinese magazine), June 2007, p15
[21] Jane Pauitt, Brand New, (2000, London) P98 Why do we buy counterfeits?
[22] Jane Pauitt, Brand New, (2000, London) P98 Why do we buy counterfeits? PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
[23] Jane Pauitt, Brand New, (2000, London) P98 Why do we buy counterfeits?
[24] Ted Plafker, A leader in counterfeit goods, China starts to crack down : The knockoff industry is no fake, (December 02, 2004)
[25] McDowell, C. McDowell’s Directory of Twentieth Century Fashion, (1984, London) PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
[26] I'm not a plastic bag by Anya Hindmarch , From ProductWiki, the free resource for unbiased product reviews and information, <http://www.productwiki.com/i-m-not-a-plastic-bag-by-anya-hindmarch/>
[27] Mark Jones, Fake? The art of deception, (Britain 1990), p13 PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
[28] Craig Clunas, Connoisseurs and aficionados: the real and fake in Ming China (1368-1644), from the chapter 14 of ‘Mark Jones, why fakes matter: essays on problems of authenticity, (Britain 1992), p151PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
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BibliographyPLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Books:PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Agins, T. The end of fashion: the mass marketing of clothing business, New York, 1999, page 7
Anna Johnson, Handbags: The Power of the Purse, New York (October 2002)PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Abby Lillethun, Linda Welters, the Fashion Reader, (New York, March 2007)PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Arjun Chaudhuri, Emotion and Reason in Consumer Behavior, (January 9, 2006)
Craig Clunas, Connoisseurs and aficionados: the real and fake in Ming China (1368-1644), from the chapter 14 of ‘Mark Jones, why fakes matter: essays on problems of authenticity, (Britain 1992), p151PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Christopher J. Berry, The Idea of Luxury: A Conceptual and Historical Investigation, (June 1994)
Don Slater, Consumer culture & modernity (USA, 1997), Page 131-173PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Jane Pauitt, Brand New, (2000, London) P98 Why do we buy counterfeits?
James B. Twitchell, Living It Up: America's Love Affair with Luxury, (July 2003)
Joanne Entwistle, the Fashioned Body: Fashion, Dress and Modern Social Theory, (Polity Press, July 2000)
Jennifer Craik, the Face of Fashion: Cultural Studies in Fashion, (January 1994)
Kyojiro Hata, Louis Vuitton Japan: The Building of Luxury, (November 2004) p121 the essence of luxury brands
Lakoff, Robin Tolmach. Scherr, Face Value, the politics of beauty, (England, 1984), p29
McDowell, C. McDowell’s Directory of Twentieth Century Fashion, (1984, London)
Mark Jones, Fake? The art of deception, (Britain 1990), p13PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Michael Silverstein, Neil Fiske, Trading Up: The New American Luxury, (October 2003), Why Consumers Want New Luxury Goods
Pamela Danziger, Let Them Eat Cake: Marketing Luxury to the Masses - As well as the Classes, (January 2005)
Pamela N. Danziger, Shopping: Why We Love It and How Retailers Can Create the Ultimate Customer Experience (October 2006)
Paul-Gerard Pasols, Louis Vuitton: The Birth of Modern Luxury, (November 2005)PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Radha Chadha and Paul Husband, the Cult of the Luxury Brand: Inside Asia's Love Affair with Luxury, London (January 9, 2007)
Robert H. Frank, Luxury Fever, (September 2000)PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Ronald D. Michman and Edward M. Mazze, the Affluent Consumer: Marketing and Selling the Luxury Lifestyle, (September 2006)
Stuart Ewen, All Consuming Images: The Politics of Style in Contemporary Culture, (February 1990)
Ted Plafker, A leader in counterfeit goods, China starts to crack down: The knockoff industry is no fake, (December 02, 2004)
Tim Phillips, Knockoff: The Deadly Trade in Counterfeit Goods: The True Story of the World's Fastest Growing Crime Wave (May 2007)
Uche Okonkwo, Luxury Fashion Branding: Trends, Tactics, Techniques, (June 2007)
Williams, E (2006), Business Model. Creative Review, 26(4) April, p45PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
William Shakespeare, Much Ado about Nothing, (July 1, 1998 America)
Article:PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Chinese luxury goods consumption is bubble, from ‘Wealth Magazine’, (Chinese magazine), June 2007, p15
Is China's Luxury Goods Market a 'Pot of Gold' for Marketers? Article from Wharton University, (July 18, 2007)
Luxury brands, youth extravagance, (August 25, 2006) from Youth Weekend (Chinese magazine)
Susan Xiao, China’s luxury goods market - what are the critical success factors for luxury goods companies looking to expand in China? (Beijing, December 16 2005), Beijing Intentional programmedPLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
The business economic of sales worldwide in The Hurun Report, a socialite magazine in Shanghai, (October 2006)
The LVMH 2006 Annual ReportPLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Internet:PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Fashion of China, [internet], Available from Wikipedia encyclopedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fashion_of_China> [accessed 20th October 2007]
Luxury goods, [internet], Available from Wikipedia encyclopedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxury_good> [accessed 28th October 2007]
I'm not a plastic bag by Anya Hindmarch , From ProductWiki, the free resource for unbiased product reviews and information, <http://www.productwiki.com/i-m-not-a-plastic-bag-by-anya-hindmarch/>PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Miles, S. Japanese Consumer Still Drive Luxe Boom, (October 30, 2000), Available from <http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-66809241.html> [accessed 13th November 2007]PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Inconspicuous consumption: Luxury, (December 24, 2005), Available from <http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-139962169.html> [accessed 13th November 2007]PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Chinese luxury market -- all smoke and mirrors? Available from <http://www.boingboing.net/2007/10/23/chinese-luxury-marke.html> [accessed 20th November 2007]
Asian counterfeiters shift focus to consumer goods from luxury goods, Available from <http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/15/business/fake.php> [accessed 20th November 2007]
Sophistication of Chinese Counterfeits Makes Them Harder to Detect: Can You Tell the Fake From the Real? Available from <http://www.iht.com/articles/2000/05/03/fake.2.t.php> [accessed 20th November 2007]
PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
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List of Illustrations
Figure 1: queue up for purchasing Louis Vuitton handbag, (2007) [online image] available from the <http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/reader_4b1a1161010009m9.html> [accessed 12th October 2007]
Figure 2: Picture from Claire Roberts, evolution & revolution: Chinese dress 1700s – 1900s, (1997) Australia, p25 [accessed 10th November 2007]
Figure 3: Picture from Claire Roberts, evolution & revolution: Chinese dress 1700s – 1900s, (1997) Australia, p23 [accessed 10th November 2007]
Figure 4: Louis Vuitton products, Picture from Louis Vuitton catalog, (2007) [accessed 14th October 2007]
Figure 5: Louis Vuitton spokespersons - Jennifer Lopez, Picture from Louis Vuitton catalog, [accessed 28th October 2007]
Figure 6: Chinese young customers are keen on using luxury handbags, (2007) [online image] available from <http://www.taobao.com > [accessed 18th November 2007]
Figure 7: Chinese consumers shopping in the Louis Vuitton department store, [online image] available from China Rich-Poor Divide, <http://picasaweb.google.com/morley.craig/ChinaRichPoorDivide/photo#5023251313174314306> [accessed 16th November 2007]
Figure 8: celebrities and luxury handbags, (2007) from left to right: Jessica Simpson - Louis Vuitton of the Jungle, Victoria Beckham - Oscar the Grouch bag, Pairs Hilton with her luxury handbags, [online image] available from handbag designer resource <http://www.handbagdesigner101.com/celebrity/83/jessica_simpson_louis_vuitton_of_the_jungle> [accessed 14th October 2007]
Figure 9: Gucci handbag, (2007) [online image] available from the Gucci homepage, <http://www.gucci.com/> [accessed 28th October 2007]
Figure 10: counterfeit Gucci handbag, (2007) [online image] available from the Chinese eBay website, <http://store.eachnet.com/shop/proList.do?shopId=298013> [accessed 28th October 2007]
Figure 11: Counterfeits are track down by policeman in China, (2007) [online image] available from the Chinese Counterfeits market, <http://big5.cri.cn/gate/big5/gb.cri.cn/8606/2006/04/18/242@1006664.htm> [accessed 19th October 2007]
Figure 12: Adidas: Fake Hurts Real, (2006) [online image] available from <http://numerof.com/blog/?p=377> [accessed 12th November 2007]
Figure 13: Louis Vuitton Adv. (2005) [online image] available from When Louis Vuitton goes bad <http://socialitelife.buzznet.com/2005/07/22/when_louis_vuitton_goes_bad.php> [accessed 24th November 2007]
Figure 14: Louis Vuitton Adv. From Vogue magazine, [accessed 23th November 2007]
Figure 15: Pigs Endure Logo Treatment, (2005) [online image] available from <http://www.adpulp.com/archives/2005/07/> [accessed 24th November 2007]
Figure 16: Anya Hindmarch - I'm Not a Plastic Bag, (2007) [online image] available from <http://www.productwiki.com/i-m-not-a-plastic-bag-by-anya-hindmarch/> [accessed 27th September 2007]
Figure 17PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi!
Hundreds of people were line up and waiting for hours to buy the Anya Hindmarch bag in Hong Kong，
(2007) [online image] available from <http://hkdigit.blogspot.com/> [accessed 12th October 2007]
Figure 18: The celebrities are having ‘I'm not a plastic bag’ in hand, (2007) [online image] available from <http://www.britishcouncil.org/zh/china-arts-ukarts-fashionanddesign-articles-imnotaplasticbag.htm> [accessed 28th September 2007]
Figure 19: counterfeits of ‘I'm not a plastic bag’, (2007) [online image] available from the Chinese eBay website, <http://auction1.taobao.com/auction/0/item_detail-0db2-feac7f3c32ff2e2587861064b9b293e7.jhtml> [accessed 12th October 2007]
PLEASE DO NOT COPY - This Article is wittern by GiGi! 2008/2/14 Changing attitudes, changing celebrationsWarning!!Copy right Ⓡ!
Please do not copy anything from this article. 警告！！版權所有！ 請勿從此文章複製任何句子。
Course title: Centre for visual and cultural studies
Name: GiGi
Tutor’s name: Dr Juliette MacDonald
The required submission date: Thursday 15th March 2007 by 12 noon, to CVCS office
The task question: Critique a chosen theme from “shopping for culture” and incorporate at least one of the theoretical approaches discussed within the module.
The task name and a title relevant to submission: Changing attitudes, changing celebrations
Word count: 1773
Changing attitudes, changing celebrations
A celebration is a joyous event or party to commemorate an important person or a particular event and tends to reinforce cultural ideas. As a result, from the past to the present, celebrations have been an important part of our lives. First of all, the reason why people celebrate is because they want to retain glorious recollections of a special event such as birthdays, marriage anniversaries and so on. The other reason for celebration is people’s need to continue with religious and cultural traditions such as celebrating Christmas and the New Year festival. People are also given a break from their regular and tiring daily lives and the opportunity to spend time with their families. It is also a time for children to receive new clothing, eat luxurious meals and receive new toys. Owing to people’s serious need to celebrate the big holidays, celebrations have begun to assume economic importance. As Christmas and New Year celebrations are the biggest celebrations they are also typically the largest annual economic stimulus for many nations.
However, have celebrations changed from their original content and been overwhelmed by materialism in this development? Why is the idea of luxury so closely connected to celebrations and how does this boost the economy? In this essay, I am going analyse these connections by considering examples of the differences in celebrations between Eastern and Western culture.
Lots of celebrations have their origins in religion, just as with Christmas. The Christian religion that is dominant in the West led to the Christmas celebration of Jesus' birth. This is the holiday that families traditionally celebrate together sharing the pleasure of a traditional dinner with all the trimmings each year. This dinner is typically roast meats; either traditional goose or turkey and Christmas pudding. People enjoy beautiful Christmas music, therefore, the custom of singing carols at Christmas is also of British origin and creates that special Christmas atmosphere. However, Christmas is different depending on the country you are celebrating in. For example, the major difference of Christmas in Australia is the weather, it is often very hot. Thus, the warm weather allows Australians to enjoy a cheerful holiday as they please, without some trivial observance.[1]
Figure 1: the religious of Christmas
Figure 2: singing carols at Christmas
In my opinion, the reason why people having more food at big holidays than usual is because they wish to be more generous towards themselves and lavish and splurge on others.
Since the vast majority of the Chinese people are not Christian, people in China do not celebrate Christmas and some of them do not even know about Christmas. However, more and more people, especially the youth, are starting to celebrate Christmas nowadays just for fun. Thus, they do not have any particular traditional or religious culture of Christmas, but consider it a nice time for meeting friends and being entertained together as it is not a family celebration. Christmas in China therefore, seems more like a romantic event for the young people. From many women's point of view, the planning of Christmas is the men's burden and they just look forward to the surprises.
Even though people celebrate Christmas in different ways around the world, there are similar effects of the Christmas period. In both the East and West people are busy with planning, decorating and setting up Christmas and following rituals during the holiday. Besides that, the tradesmen in Eastern countries have commercialized Christmas just as the Western shops have done. The shopping centre and malls experience record breaking crowds the same everywhere. Sales increase dramatically in almost all retail areas, as people purchase gifts, decorations, and supplies for parties and for visiting guests. In that case, holiday celebration rituals double as economic indicators.
Figure 3: the crowd of Christmas shopping
Due to the importance people attach to Christmas; Christmas shopping has become a deeply rooted element of the celebration and it has lead to the traditional religious holiday becoming a commercial celebration in both Eastern and Western countries. How to celebrate Christmas and how to do the Christmas shopping is a hot topic of discussions which always seems to appear one month before Christmas. Christmas seems like a women’s holiday because of it gives them time to go shopping and it provides the best excuse for women to be indulgent. They need to buy lots of presents for family, for friends and of course for themselves as well. Therefore, Christmas shopping contributes to encouraging growth in the world economy. Besides that, gift-giving is also a main activity for Christmas. In previous years, in the West people only swapped small gifts or Christmas cards and it felt more like thanksgiving. Thomas Hine argues that,
‘It may seem that shopping should be inessential to the celebration of a holiday that celebrates a miraculous event. Shopping is a show of love and ties to family and friends, which is why buying for Christmas is so emotionally taxing.’
However, this view is somewhat superficial. People nowadays are more focused on the exchange of presents rather than on sharing their feelings. Eventually, the deeper meaning of gift-giving has been lost in the commercialization of Christmas. The Christmas celebration which was family orientated by origin has somehow evolved into materialism celebration after the 20th century.
Figure 4: A Christmas tree is built up by presents.
Figure 5: Shop window display during the Christmas.
Furthermore, some people even plan strategies for the Christmas shopping. For instance, they only do window shopping before Christmas and marked what they like and come back for the big Christmas sales. However, some goods seem to waste wealth such as buying the Christmas trees and decorations. People will only keep them for a month during the Christmas holiday and bin them after. This splurge seems to be repeated year after year. Eventually, this reaffirms that people are too extravagant for the celebration. The reasons why people are so indulgent is that they want to follow tradition and make the celebration different from the other time in the year. It is the time for them to anticipate and it provides them with a release from their everyday life.
However, after the 911 attack in the USA[2], Americans cherished their families more and Christmas returned to its emotional heritage again. In these cases, big celebrations are the extravagant time for ties family together.
As a result, Changing values and attitudes towards Christmas have resulted in spending and waste. As well as Christmas has became more commercial and people pay more attention on presents rather than focus on family. However, it is possible that this could be overturned as we should consider more about the emotion of the celebration to stop being materialism.
As with Christmas, the Chinese New Year also sprang out of religion. The custom is still continuing now, but some young people now view the traditional way of celebration as the older people’s burden. The weather seems to be significant to the Chinese New Year, as the Chinese believe that if there is heavy snow during the New Year one can expect a plenteous year. As a result, people enjoy the celebration, as well as the weather. Both Chinese New Year and Christmas create the chance for the family to get together. However, nowadays getting together as a family could be extravagant as people are frequently scattered all over the world. For example, students who go aboard to study will not able to meet their family during the Chinese New Year as Chinese New Year is not a public holiday in other counties. As well as some people who work away from home will not able to meet their family except from the big holidays at Chinese New Year or Christmas.
Moreover, owing to the fact that in the last six decades Chinese people have not been well-off they have considered food rather than gift-giving of importance. This is especially true of the reunion dinner at Chinese New Year where food is consumed to usher in wealth, happiness, and good fortune and several food names are homophones for words that also mean good thing. Thereby, they have to eat the tradition reunion dinner to make sense of ‘getting luck’. For example, fish is usually eaten on New Year’s Eve and fish is a homophone for ‘more than enough’, or ‘extra’.[3] Fish is a luxurious food as some people cannot afford to buy meat or fish at other times of the year. Therefore, they have taken pleasure in saving for the whole year and allow themselves this treat during the New Year. However, it is hardly an indulgence because at this time of the year they satisfy their hunger unlike the rest of the year when they eat too little. Therefore, there is no waste as with the Western celebrations; everything is hard-earned.
Figure 6: luxurious food for celebrations.
Since China has developed, people have got more and more wealth to spend and they have suddenly become indulgent. Due to people’s standard of living improving, they wish to have something more than was previously expected. For instance, they just keep purchasing but never consider if it is necessary，even lavish. Some of them might even think having more food or more holiday decorations could allow them to flaunt their wealth. Owning goods makes people feel more secure. Likewise, it is the same situation as people buying the luxury goods. Everyone knows luxury goods are much more expensive than other goods and quality goods can be bought often at a ten times lower price. People save money for a long time just to buy luxurious items they will use once. However, people purchased them not because of they need to, but to satisfy their vanity. In summary, to celebrate the Chinese New Year now has become a luxury as people spend much more than they would normally have in the past.
Figure 7: celebrate the Chinese New Year in China town
In addition, instead of gift-giving, the Chinese have the tradition of giving pocket money to children. The observance of it is used to suppress or put down the evil spirit[4]. In earlier times, as people did not have much money to spend, they would just give children some spare change in red envelopes or red packets just to keep the content of the tradition. Today, the deeper meanings of giving pocket money has changed, instead of following tradition, having those cash gifts has become more economism. Besides that, people are not giving changes any more, but hundreds or thousands in cash. And giving cash in the red envelopes has become one way to keep the business relationship as well. In short, the celebration has been overwhelmed by materialism as the tradition has evolved into commercialism.
Figure 8: Chinese new year shopping
In conclusion, celebrations are important to our life indeed, however, they have both advantages and disadvantages. It can be seen that celebrations have been overwhelmed by materialism rather than following meaningful traditions. The deeper meaning of the celebration has been lost and commercialised. However, if we stop celebrating in this way, the world economy might be jeopardized as this is how the system works. Maybe it would be wise to think more about the significance of having celebrations.
[1] Mary D. Lankford, Christmas Around the World, (October 19, 1998) [2] September 11, 2001 attacks, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11,_2001_Terrorist_Attack>, (September 11, 2001), accessed 27/02/07 [3] Rosemary Gong, Good Luck Life: The Essential Guide to Chinese American Celebrations and Culture, (January 25, 2005) [4] Red envelope, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_envelope>, accessed 27/02/07
Bibliography
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Thomas Hine, I Want That: How We All Became Shoppers, (Reprint edition, Oct 2003)
Tomlinson, A. (ed), Consumption, identity, and style: marketing, meanings, and the packaging of pleasure, (Routledge, London, 1989)
D. Miller, A Theory of Shopping, Chapter 2, (Cambridge, Polity Press, 1998)
Maxine Berg and Helen Clifford, Consumers and luxury, (Manchester and New York, 1999)
Shields, R, Lifestyle Shopping: the Subject of Consumption, (Routledge, London, 2004)
Watson, C, Multiculturalism, (OU, Buckingham, 2000)
Lury, C, Consumer Culture, (Blackwell Publishers, Oxford, 1996)
Judith Williamson, Consuming Passions: The dynamics of popular culture, (the U.K. and the U.S.A, 1986)
Mary D. Lankford, Christmas Around the World, (October 19, 1998)
Rosemary Gong, Good Luck Life: The Essential Guide to Chinese American Celebrations and Culture, (January 25, 2005)
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