The Consumption Styles of Immigrant Families in Italy: Identifications, Status, and Practices

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to show how consumption patterns can provide insight into the way in which immigrant parents and their children negotiate their identities, deal with their social status, and try to build a new life in their country of arrival. There is a lot of research on consumption—especially about the role of objects and brands as identity markers—and migrant families—especially evaluating their social status or their reduced chances of social mobility. However, what is often missing is the link between consumption styles and the “management” of cultural diversity and identification patterns within migrant families. This article is based on data from a 2‐year qualitative research project during which the authors conducted 70 in‐depth interviews with migrant families involving both parents and their children. The interviews took place in Milan which is the most multicultural city in Italy. Although the empirical investigation was conducted in only one country, the overall aim was to investigate broader tendencies about the role of consumption styles in migrant families in western countries and to include two generations (parents and their children in the late teens and early twenties).