Mediated Enjoyment- Representations of Luxury in the Web Discourse of Lifestyle Magazines

Abstract

Luxury is a 913BE global industry spanning multiple categories according to the Boston Consulting Group, and it represents a major market worldwide, one that has registered a tremendous growth in the last decade. Brands have developed a significant presence in the digital space and consumers have, indeed, augmented their purchases in the online environment. Even though there are a few studies about luxury in media and magazines there seems to be an absence of luxury studies on online magazines. More important, the examination of discursive representations of luxury in the online media has not, until now, deserved much attention. This paper explores the discursive construction and representations of luxury on the top 5 web magazines on luxury lifestyle. It concludes that Leisure, Hedonism, Carpe Diem, Singularity, Escape and Magnificence form the pentactic axis from which web magazines audiences take part in luxury discourse. By exposing this discursive pentactic construct, as well as by uncovering luxury web magazines social-cultural practices, linguistic, visual and strategic discursive principles, this investigation sheds light into the discursive mechanisms through which web magazines luxury discourse occurs. At the same time, the paper found that web magazines portrait luxury standing between two opposing poles: on one hand, luxury discourse is associated with the display of social status; on other hand, it is linked with personal gratification in a clear alignment with postmodern principles of Individualism, Hedonism and Indulgence.