Commodifying Difference: Selling EASTern Fashion

Abstract

In this paper we explore the contested spaces of contemporary commodity culture through case-study research with two fashion companies that are involved, in linked but contrasting ways, with the production and marketing of cultural difference. One company, the British-based women's wear firm EAST, is striving to extend its high-street presence via a generalised ‘ethnic’ aesthetic, combined with culturally constructed notions of design individuality. The other firm, the Indian-based company Anokhi, has a more ambivalent relationship with the commercial ‘mainstream’, emphasising its use of traditional hand-block printing methods, combined with a sense of social responsibility and ethical commitment to its workforce. The case studies demonstrate that cultural difference is actively constituted through the process of commodification, justifying an emphasis on the production of difference as well as on its consumption. We draw on in-depth interviews and participant observation with key actors in both firms, examining how the meaning of goods is shaped as they move along the commodity chain from production to consumption. We examine the retail spaces and marketing strategies of the two firms and explore (via focus-group research) the further transformations of meaning and value undertaken by consumers as they purchase and wear these clothes. We conclude that commercial culture is a contested space characterised by competing discourses and practices, the outcome of which can only be determined empirically.