Between Image and Spectator: Reception Studies as Visual Methodology

This article makes the case for reception studies as a useful tool in the visual analysis of fashion photography. While there has been increased attention paid to methodology in the field of Fashion Studies of late, the study of audience reception—that is, the way viewers make sense of images—remains underdeveloped. This article lays down an experimental methodology for reception studies of fashion media, using the focus group format as sociological method and “discursive performativity” as theoretical framework. It presents a critical appraisal of this method, drawing upon the findings of research on the “woman-child” in European fashion magazines, from 1990 to 2015. In so doing, the study engages with debates on the “female gaze,” the active audience, polysemy and the “effects” of fashion magazines.