Exogamous weddings and fashion in a rising consumer culture: Kabyle minority dynamics of structure and agency

Abstract

This study critically explores the intersection of fashion consumption, gender, and wedding ceremonies in contemporary Algeria. The specific research location offers the opportunity to investigate a Western minority, the Kabyle people, living in an Arabo–Islamic country, which provides a broader spectrum of analysis and enriches understanding of the role of fashion in consumers’ identity project construction. An interpretive analysis of consumer fashion discourses and practices during wedding ceremonies suggests that rising material aspirations play a significant role and reflect marked transformations among the elite. Furthermore, the adoption of previously stigmatized outfits appears to intensify power issues in terms of gender, class, and ethnicity. Unlike in previous research that stresses a will for differentiation and the role of fashion in constructing individual identities, in this study the respondents’ choices are driven mainly by collective narratives.