A Study On The Changes Of Cover Characters Of Fashion Magazines From The Perspective Of Consumerism ——Take "Harper's Bazaar"(2005-2021) As An Example

Fashion magazines,as the most active medium for spreading consumerist ideas,also reflect political and economic development and social and cultural changes.Studying the changes of its cover characters as visual symbols can provide a glimpse of the essence of consumerism and the specific process of changes,and help enrich the theoretical research on cover characters.This paper takes Harper's Bazaar as a case study,and analyzes a total of 272 issues,308 covers,and 371 cover characters from 2005 to 2021(repeated from issue to issue,and accumulated after the repetition).By analyzing the changes in the cover of Harper's Bazaar and its related elements through content analysis,we explore two questions:First,how did the cover of Harper's Bazaar,an important visual symbol,change between 2005 and 2021,and what characteristics of change and logic of consumerism did it present?Secondly,how did the fashion magazine symbolize the body of the cover character and what kind of body "myth" did it construct for its audience?The paper focuses on the following aspects:1.The elements contained in the cover of Harper's Bazaar and their changes over the last 17 years,as well as the characteristics of these changes;2.How the body of the cover of Harper's Bazaar is symbolized and the "myth" of the body is constructed for the audience;3.The consumerist motive behind the symbolization of the cover character and how it reaches consumption through identification.This paper consists of six parts,the first part is about the research background,research purpose,research content and methodology;the second part is about this study,the relevant literature is sorted out,and the core theory is defined,and the research design is elaborated;the third part is about the characteristics and reasons for the change of the cover characters of Harper's Bazaar between 2005 and 2021;the fourth part analyzes the symbolization of fashion magazine cover characters and their process,the construction of body myths and the inner value logic of their identity;the fifth part analyzes the consumer point of the symbolization of cover characters and reflects on fashion magazines under the influence of consumerism;the sixth part summarizes the whole text and points out the shortcomings and prospects.The study found that under the influence of consumerism,the cover of Harper's Bazaar and all the visual elements have changed,with the cover character shifting from all "cover girls" to gender diversity,their profession shifting from "celebrity" to "idol",from Western symbols to Chinese elements,Chinese faces gradually increasing,Chinese brands starting to appear,and the nudity of the cover character decreasing."The number of Chinese faces gradually increased,Chinese brands began to appear,and the nudity of the cover characters gradually decreased.At the same time,under the influence of consumerism,fashion magazines such as Harper's Bazaar symbolize their bodies through the important visual symbol of the cover character,providing audiences with a model of the "perfect body" and constructing for them the "myth" of a confident,free,individual and independent body."This has encouraged consumers to form self-identity and group identity,and led them to "consume symbols" and "symbolic consumption".In this context,the development of fashion magazines also has the problem of bowing to the "flow" and harvesting the "fan economy",which has a negative impact not only on the magazines themselves but also on their audiences,which is a problem that needs to be faced and solved in the development of fashion magazines.This is a problem that needs to be addressed in the development of fashion magazines.As an important visual symbol of fashion magazines,cover characters are an important window for the study of fashion magazines.In the development of fashion magazines,this paper analyzes the nature of consumerism and the direction of consumption presented through the changes of cover characters.The nature of consumerism has also driven the changes of fashion magazine cover characters and visual elements,presenting aesthetic concepts and consumption ideas in different times and social contexts.The complicity of consumerism and fashion magazines triggers the audience's consumption and their own changes.