Media and market: mediations in the construction of meanings of the consumption of “branded clothes”

Abstract

Taking as an empirical universe a neighborhood located in the outskirts of Santo André, city of the metropolitan region of São Paulo, this article seeks to contribute to the understanding of the symbolic dimension of consumer goods and the meanings attributed to them in peripheral contexts. Specifically, we approached the relationship with the universe of designer brands, or, in the words of the interlocutors, branded clothes, starting from conversations conducted during a focus group with young people (18 to 24 years old), as well as some excerpts from individual interviews. and field notebook records. It also discusses the role of guiding guidance by the media, disseminating styles of clothing and accessories, as well as brands, especially sports. We are interested in identifying the modes of appropriation and use, as well as motivations for consumption – beyond practical-utilitarian reasons – by discussing the relevance of the hegemonic sociological explanation, which points to the logic of imitation-distinction as main motivator for this practice (VEBLEN, 1983; SIMMEL, 2006; BOURDIEU, 2007).