This thesis examines covers of Elle fashion magazine, that comes out in different countries in the world, using chosen theories of cultural differences. The aim of this thesis is to answer a question whether fashion industry reflects cultural specifics of each country or if its a unifying type of (sub)culture itself. Theoretical part shows an overview of approaches to cultural differences and discusses how could these diffe-rences show themselves in fasion industry. Practical part - on samples of Elle fashion magazine covers - analyzes aspects chosen based on literature review.

<p>ABSTRACT</p><p>Title: FASHIONING THE FEMALE -</p><p>An Analysis of the “Fashionable Woman” in ELLE Magazine - Now and Then</p><p>Number of pages: 57 (including diagrams and figures, excluding enclosures)</p><p>Author: Heidi Marie Nömm</p><p>Tutor: Ylva Ekström</p><p>Course: Media and Communication Studies D Level, Master Thesis</p><p>Period: Spring term 2007</p><p>University: Uppsala University Division of Media and Communication Department of Information Science</p><p>Purpose/Aim: The purpose of this master thesis is to investigate how fashion can function as a communication channel and how the modern Swedish woman is represented in ELLE magazine within two different fashion decades, in 1992 and 2007.</p><p>Material: Swedish ELLE magazines No. 1-4 1992 and No. 1-4 2007.</p><p>Method: A complementary combination of quantitative content analysis, semiotics and critical discourse analysis.</p><p>Main results: A number of differences, as well as similarities can be recognised between the fashions of 1992 and 2007. The latter one is characterised by women looking serious, sometimes even austere while 1992 shows often happy women. The fashion styles are much more casual, colourful and more accessorised by jewellery etc. in 1992, while the clothing in 2007 is often tight, body hugging and reveals more skin. Concerning ethnicity, 2007 only shows white women, often very feminine and wearing mostly dresses and rarely pants, whereas 1992 is characterised by ELLE’s effort to show a more multicultural and diversified picture of the female. The semiotic analysis has lead to the conclusions that women in 1992 were more natural and “real” whereas the female picture ELLE is presenting often has fictional or unnatural elements. The fashion styles often seem un-wearable in 2007, however also rather artistic. The woman of 2007 is living a more expensive and extravagant lifestyle than in 1992 where women were more of en depicted “average”.</p><p>Keywords: Fashion, communication, representation, lifestyle, cultural studies,feminism, ELLE magazine, femininity.</p>

ABSTRACT Title: FASHIONING THE FEMALE - An Analysis of the “Fashionable Woman” in ELLE Magazine - Now and Then Number of pages: 57 (including diagrams and figures, excluding enclosures) Author: Heidi Marie Nömm Tutor: Ylva Ekström Course: Media and Communication Studies D Level, Master Thesis Period: Spring term 2007 University: Uppsala University Division of Media and Communication Department of Information Science Purpose/Aim: The purpose of this master thesis is to investigate how fashion can function as a communication channel and how the modern Swedish woman is represented in ELLE magazine within two different fashion decades, in 1992 and 2007. Material: Swedish ELLE magazines No. 1-4 1992 and No. 1-4 2007. Method: A complementary combination of quantitative content analysis, semiotics and critical discourse analysis. Main results: A number of differences, as well as similarities can be recognised between the fashions of 1992 and 2007. The latter one is characterised by women looking serious, sometimes even austere while 1992 shows often happy women. The fashion styles are much more casual, colourful and more accessorised by jewellery etc. in 1992, while the clothing in 2007 is often tight, body hugging and reveals more skin. Concerning ethnicity, 2007 only shows white women, often very feminine and wearing mostly dresses and rarely pants, whereas 1992 is characterised by ELLE’s effort to show a more multicultural and diversified picture of the female. The semiotic analysis has lead to the conclusions that women in 1992 were more natural and “real” whereas the female picture ELLE is presenting often has fictional or unnatural elements. The fashion styles often seem un-wearable in 2007, however also rather artistic. The woman of 2007 is living a more expensive and extravagant lifestyle than in 1992 where women were more of en depicted “average”. Keywords: Fashion, communication, representation, lifestyle, cultural studies,feminism, ELLE magazine, femininity.

Theoretical part of diploma thesis Comparative quantitative content analysis of photos from Timeline regional Facebook pages of ELLE Magazine explores the theory of visual culture, what kind of role pictures or photos play in contemporary digital age. Also Facebook online marketing and Facebook pages are described. The third chapter of thesis looks into history of global trade brand ELLE Magazine and it describes the owners of brand-license in examined regional countries. The last theoretical section explores a globalization of communication including magazine trade and the Internet. The thesis also contains research review of contemporary studies with similar topic. Methodological part firstly describes a content analysis and its aplication on research of photos. Secondly a diploma research with main reseach question: Are regional differences in thematic composition of published photos on facebook pages of ELLE magazines?

Avec l'arrivée du magazine Elle Vietnam en 2010, une nouvelle figure internationale de la presse magazine féminine haut-de-gamme apparaît au Vietnam. Avec la politique du Đổi Mới (Renouveau) lancée dans les années 1980, le Vietnam se tourne vers la « modernité». Elle, créé dans les années 1950 en France, se tourne vers les femmes modernes, tournées vers l'international, le luxe, la beauté. C'est cet objectif de déploiement de la marque internationale Elle au sein de ce contexte politico-économique que nous avons questionné. Comment les acteurs locaux du magazine Elle Vietnam adaptent-ils la marque du magazine Elle dans le marché local ? Nous avons inscrit notre réflexion dans la compréhension de ce « réservoir mythologique » cher à Roland Barthes, mais cette fois-ci, à la lumière des producteurs et référentiels vietnamiens. / With the new Doi Moi policy launched in the eighties in Vietnam, Vietnam created a new environment geared towards modernity. In 2010, Elle Vietnam stepped up in Vietnam as a new women's magazine international leader, as a branch of Elle, a French women's magazine dedicated to modern, international, beautiful women as well as luxury. We will focus our developments on the framework that led to "modernity" in Vietnam, as well as the international brand designed by Elle Vietnam. Also, how do the Vietnamese producers adapt to the global brand Elle expansion? With the point of view of Vietnamese producers, we will focus our developments on the understanding of what Roland Barthes once called a “mythological tank”.

無 / A close relationship exists between media and the construction of women’s image, even more so in contemporary society when individuals rely on the written press so much to construct themselves. However, many media are still presenting stereotypical images of women as cute nurturers and housewives. Through content and semiotic analysis, the thesis examines the changes in the representation of women as shown on the covers of ELLE magazine at the beginning of the 21st century. The findings show that while the French edition of the magazine is portraying more and more realistic feminine and casually clothed ordinary women who have an extraordinary destiny and are concerned with human rights, ELLE China is walking a thin line between presenting inspirational images of trendy liberated working women and more traditional ones, and trying to mix them together to develop a more local image of the modern Chinese woman, whose Confucian values are still important. On the cover of ELLE China at least, women can acquire a higher status and develop a modern femininity with distinctive Chinese characteristics (although those characteristics are still in evolution) through consumption while the subjects on ELLE France covers are more substantial and varied and the image of the French women on the covers of ELLE magazine appears more stable. Therefore, we can conclude that ELLE serves as a venue for weaving local and global values together and create an image of the French and Chinese modern women in its respective French and Chinese issues.